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Cenex to run electric vehicle public chargepoints database

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28 July 2017

CENEX has been appointed by the government to run the official electric vehicle public chargepoints database for the UK.

The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV ) appointed Cenex  – the UK’s first Centre of Excellence for low carbon technologies – to maintain and develop this database of information to be freely available, and so allow third party developers to offer an enhanced user experience for EV motorists.

Cenex says it plans to develop the National Chargepoint Registry (NCR), working in partnership with green energy software systems specialist Apetrel Systems and funded by OLEV.

The upgrades to the NCR will help to ensure that the information on chargepoints in the UK is accurate and up-to-date, and will allow developers to build mapping and journey planning applications using the best available data.

Established in 2011 to provide a freely available database of publicly-accessible chargepoints across the UK, and with a user-friendly web interface, the NCR currently holds data provided by chargepoint operators on chargepoints’ location, compatibility, and hours of operation.

There are several mapping tools and apps that use the NCR data to help EV drivers find suitable public electric vehicle chargepoints on their route.

EV mapping tools include:

  • ecarNI which shows chargepoints in Northern Ireland;
  • Greener Scotland which shows Scottish EV chargers;
  • PlugSurfing, a service covering EV charging locations across Europe;
  • Open Charge Map, which shows chargepoints both in the UK and globally;
  • Mitsubishi Motors which allows users to find compatible points for its plug-in hybrids;
  • The New Motion, a charge card and app-based service providing access to the largest network in Europe; and
  • Zap-Map which provides comprehensive coverage of UK chargepoint locations with popular search and route planning features.

Cenex head of energy systems Adrian Vinsome said: “Providing a flexible, accurate database of the UK’s chargepoints is critical to deliver the government’s vision for EV uptake.

“In many ways, the NCR was ‘ahead of its time’ but it needs better mechanisms to upload and download the data in real-time.  This will be our initial focus, and this will ultimately improve the EV motorist’s experience as better tools and apps are built on a solid, reliable and accurate foundation.”

Apetrel Systems technical director Paul Pepper said: “We are pleased to be working with Cenex on such an important component of the UK’s electric vehicle knowledge base, and we are confident that the next version of the NCR will provide useful data to make planning, logistics, and daily use of plug-in electric vehicles much simpler for drivers.”

About Cenex

  • Cenex operates as an independent not-for-profit consultancy and research organisation specialising in projects which support innovation and market development to accelerate the shift to a low emission economy.
  • By encouraging the early market adoption of low emission and fuel cell technologies in automotive applications, Cenex aims to assist the UK automotive supply chain with competing in global markets, as well as showcasing UK expertise to encourage inward investment.

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