Automotive Business Magazine – Q3 2026 – Digital edition - Flipbook - Page 72
OPI N I O N
FLEET
Need to know:
Energy storage
→ Jonathan Carrier is founder and CEO at Allye Energy
V
ehicle technology is
advancing rapidly, model
availability is growing, and
more operators are actively
planning the shift. Yet many
projects still stall long before
the first electric vehicle
arrives at the depot.The
issue increasingly is not the
vehicles themselves.
The grid is the bottleneck. A fleet can
order electric vans and HGVs today –
but if the depot can't get the power
to charge them, electrification stalls.
Battery storage is the way round it.
At the recent SMMT Electrified Summit,
grid connection delays were identified as
the top barrier to depot electrification.
Historically, the answer has been
straightforward: upgrade the grid
connection. But for many operators,
that solution quickly becomes difficult.
Upgrading can take 12 to 24 months and
run to six figures before a single vehicle
has charged. For many operators, that's
the point electrification gets shelved.
Many fleets begin to view electrification
as a major infrastructure project first
and a fleet project second. Long lead
times, uncertainty around costs and
the prospect of significant capital
expenditure can all delay decisions.
Battery energy storage allows
operators to work differently with the
power they already have available. Rather
than requiring immediate additional grid
capacity, battery systems can charge
gradually and discharge when higher
power is needed.
This turns a constrained connection
into a more flexible resource. Our
MAX300, for example, delivers up to
400kW of DC fast charging from your
existing connection. It buffers energy
through the day to release on demand.
Designed for today and tomorrow
Importantly, battery storage should not
be viewed simply as a solution for sites
72
AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS
Q3 2026
with inadequate power. Even operators
with a sufficient connection today face
a different challenge: future demand.
Charging requirements are unlikely to
stay static. Vehicles will become larger,
battery capacities will increase and
charging speeds will continue rising.
Storage isn't only for constrained
sites. Even where a connection is
already sufficient, a battery lets you
charge faster, shave the peaks that drive
demand charges, and add capacity as
the fleet grows.
This changes the role of storage from
solving an immediate constraint to
protecting future operations.
Charging speeds and power demand
only go one way. A battery hedges
against that, scaling with you rather than
locking you to a fixed connection.
There is also an important financial
consideration, as traditional grid
upgrades often involve significant
upfront investment that becomes a fixed
infrastructure cost.
A grid upgrade is sunk capital, while
a battery can be leased, turning a
heavy one-off capex into a manageable
operating cost. When it isn't charging
vehicles, it earns a return through
grid services.
The timing for fleet operators matters,
too, with the Government's Depot
Charging Scheme closing its application
window on 30th June, operating on a
first-come, first-served basis.
The fleets most at risk of missing the
opportunity may not be those lacking
electrification plans. They may be those
still assuming the grid challenge has to
be solved before progress can begin.
This is not a future scenario sitting on
the horizon. Our systems are already
deployed and managing grid constraints
in the field, from Roadchef's motorway
services to construction fleets. For fleet
operators, the message is increasingly
clear: electrification does not necessarily
require waiting for more power.
