Leaning into the Future of Mobility

At our latest meetup, we invited Product leaders across Mobility inThe Netherlands to share their thoughts on the future of EV, EV Charging and Performance-oriented cycling.

A special thank you to our co-host, Harm Jan Luth from Achmea Innovation Fund in Amsterdam.

Freerik Meeuwes

Director of Product Workplace & Commercial Charging at EVBox

Freerik’s background in mobility spans across 13 years. He joined the team at EVBox in 2016 when setting up an EV charging business in Amsterdam was still a challenge due to the lack of EV usage at the time. With a strong affinity for new business development, Freerik has been an essential part of EVBox’s success over the last 7 years. His core Product Management skills lie in business and pricing strategy.

About EVBox

To build a sustainable future, EVBox empowers businesses and drivers to embrace electric mobility. EVBox’s charging solutions lay the foundations for a world where electric mobility is the new normal by giving EV drivers the ability to charge with confidence, allowing businesses to easily enter the market and scale their offering as demand grows, and evolving with the rapid pace of innovation. Founded in 2010, EVBox is now a market leader in electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVSE) who has delivered over 500,000 charging ports to partners and customers globally. The solutions EVBox is offering include charging stations for residential, commercial, and fast-charging network usage, as well as charging management software. More information can be found on EVBox.com.

Nick Hubbers

Co-Founder & CPO at Jedlix 

With more than a decade in Energy and CleanTech, Nick’s strong analytical background has given him a proven track record in analysing sustainable energy data and leveraging those insights to drive business success. 

About Jedlix

Jedlix develops and operates a Vehicle-to-Grid Integration (“VGI”) platform to optimise the charging & discharging of electric vehicles and facilitate their insertion into the power grid at scale. Jedlix teams up with energy companies, CPOs & eMSPs, car manufacturers to reduce the total cost of ownership of Electric Vehicles.

Michiel Ooms

Head of Design – Connected at Canyon Bicycles

Michiel’s Product expertise was shaped by years as UX/Creative consultant where he led creative strategies and concepts across various Dutch Tech and Product Companies.

About Canyon Bicycles

In the world of cycling, Canyon Bicycles has emerged as a renowned brand that blends cutting-edge technology with a passion for performance-oriented cycling. From road bikes to mountain bikes, gravel bikes to e-bikes, Canyon offers a diverse lineup that caters to various disciplines and riding styles.

The Future of Commercial EV Charging 

Our Meetup kicked off with Freerik’s talk: Electrifying Businesses: The Power of Commercial EV Charging. He explored the ever increasing demand for commercial charging as regulators now implement requirements to have charging infrastructure in future business premises and to attract a new clientele.

Freerik shared some interesting insights on the current state of electric mobility:

53% of EV drivers charge their EV’s at commercial parking spaces

(Source: EVBox Mobility Monitor, 2022) 

“EV charging should be seen as an opportunity as opposed to a threat or nuisance. It offers commercial businesses the chance to offer charging services to their customers adding to the value of their core business.”

Installing the infrastructure can become costly and requires skilled staff, not to mention you may need to expand the power capacity on site to charge those EVs. . Which poses the question: Should the business premises supply charging for free due to the draw of customers or charge to offset the cost of installation and maintenance? The benefits however far surpass the challenges. EV charging chains allow owners realtime connections to the cloud, allowing them to pinpoint issues quickly. With 23% of vehicles in the EU being EV’s, it’s a given that commercial retailers will become much more attractive to shoppers when EV Charging is available. More cars, more people, more revenue. 

EVBox’s latest innovation to mitigate installation challenges, is called EVBox Liviqo. The new EV charging solution offers easy configuration with their EVBox Install App, Intuitive guidance with a high-res screen and perhaps the best feature of all, automated billing and management to give commercial owners clarity on operational costs.  

A Future with Zero-Cost EV Charging

Nick’s talk on Harnessing the Power of AI for a Zero-Cost EV Charge in the Future started of with a quick overview of the the decrease in emission levels in the EU since 1990. 

Based on this data from the European Environment Agency in 2022, Transport was the only sector where greenhouse gas emissions have increased in the past three decades. You might be wondering why we’re discussing fuel emissions on the topic of EV, but the fact of the matter is that passenger cars are still a major polluter, accounting for 61% of the total CO2 emissions from EU road transport. Regardless of clear targets set for the EU, their efforts in improving fuel efficiency are declining much slower than the desired trend. 

So how do we reduce emissions? By making vehicles more efficient or changing the fuel, or in this case, energy, used. Easier said than done right? 

“To answer this question we need to look beyond the plug. In the future of Mobility, we see two worlds collide, that of Mobility and that of Electricity Generation. We have a good understanding of where Diesel and Gasoline comes from. As for electricity, this is not entirely clear.” 

Next, Nick took the audience on a journey beyond the socket. With 35% of Dutch homeowners installing solar and 19% of NL electricity demand being covered by wind power, one can’t help but wonder whether this influx of wind or solar energy is being put to good use. Energy farm conductor’s can now sell the electricity to offset costs whilst having an abundance of energy. Last week was the first time that the Netherlands had an abundance of electricity, meaning providers sell electricity at lower prices as they anticipate the penalties they’ll pay for overuse. 

“Wind energy is like a new instrument- it needs fine tuning and adjusting. If too much energy is produced the provider is charged. If too little is produced the consumer suffers.”

Jedlix is adapting to a future where surplus energy gives their EV owners a choice in terms of the energy type they want to use and the tariffs they want to pay. This means that their app allows users to optimise and automate the tariffs they pay for charging in parallel with solar optimisation, forecasting solar production and estimated emissions. 

On top of giving users more flexibility, Jedlix have also developed a feature where drivers earn and save based on the app’s ability to optimise your charging plan as much as possible at the lowest tariff. After each charging session, Jedlix will provide users with an estimate of how much they’ve saved on their energy bill and how much you can get paid per Smartly Charged kWh if you have an energy contract with one of their partners. 

So, with an estimated 80 million EV’s predicted to be on the road by the end of the decade, it’s safe to say that leveraging an abundance of this energy will become increasingly important for users and providers, with companies like Jedlix preparing for the shift. Jedlix’s goals is to have 1 million EV drivers, across 5 continents charging with zero emissions by 2030. 

The Future of Connected rides in Cycling

Canyon bikes are specifically designed to unleash the unlimited potential in every rider. Another fun fact is that they only sell directly to consumers, meaning they have direct contact with their riders – a unique opportunity! This ambitious company dreams of seeing the Tour de France being won on a Canyon bike in the future. An ambitious goal for a very ambitious team! But the expectations of customers are changing…

As with any mode of transportation, safe riding and innovation is a priority. Since their launch in the late 90’s, the advancement of tech and the need for riders to easily connect with their bikes, combined with the need for an easy user experience, has created a unique opportunity for Canyon. When mapping out what their customers want today, their needs were:

• Easily reach customer care if needed
• Avoiding calls as much as possible
• Video calls for advice
• Insurance
• Support in bike fitting and sizes
• Setup tutorials

Their new app was a means to tick these boxes, allowing riders to get much more from their experience. Users can now manage all aspects of a bike’s setup, from unboxing and assembly, and easily access visuals and manuals of your bike’s components. 

Their latest release called Spectral:ON is the first Connected bike, fitted with special security features. It’s their first bike, of many to come, that connects with their app. Features include movement alerts, find my bike, easy insurance, content and stories that inspire and detailed guides on care and maintenance. 

With 81% of customers having a need to feel safer while riding, more opportunities for innovation continue to arise.

Michiel took the audience through some examples of cycling’s latest safety innovations, like Garmin’s VARIA radar for eBikes which detects cars to prevent crashes, or the ANGI- crash detecting sensor by Specialized, which is attached to a helmet for crash detection. If the ANGI sensor’s App isn’t accessed to confirm the rider is safe, emergency services are informed. 

In Michiel’s closing statement he stressed the need for industries to combine their abilities and influence: 

“As an industry, working and collaborating within our ecosystems and across various technologies could allow us to link cars, bikes, pedestrians and traffic systems in the future. With these ongoing advancements, one can’t help but wonder how far we can take AI and camera detection in the future.” 

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