2023-06-08 13:59:29
Oil giants such as BP, Shell and Exxon will no longer be able to dispose of their petrol on the paving stones in regarding twenty years’ time. So do you think they will be the biggest in what their future is: charging stations. But no, they are small in that sector.
If you need petrol, you know that you have to confess to Esso, Shell, Total or, for example, Q8. The oil giants control the market. And they have been doing so for regarding a century. The petrol engine was hardly invented when the oil companies already took over that market. Now that the world is exchanging the petrol engine for the electric motor, you would therefore expect them to be on the ropes to claim the power supply to motorists, their future.
No oil in top-5
But look at the practice and you wonder what’s going on. In the US, the car country par excellence, the top 5 public charging points (stations along major roads and individual charging stations in residential areas and at hotels, for example) consist of Electrify America, Tesla Superchargers, EVgo, ChargePoint and Blink. It is immediately clear who is behind the Tesla Superchargers: car manufacturer Tesla. But that also appears to be the case with number one, Electrify America. That is because of Volkswagen. And EVgo is a standalone new entrant, but it partners with GM, one of the largest automakers in the world. ChargePoint is also an independent chain, and works together with Mercedes. And number five Blink is also an independent club. You have not yet come across an oil name in this list.
ChargePoint is already large in Europe, just like Tesla, and Volkswagen even claims to be the largest through its ‘power division’ Elli. I have not found a current top 5 or top 10 of public charging points for Europe, but here too the car manufacturers and independent chains are leading.
No oil in plug selection
The car manufacturers are also very active on another front to secure a leading position in loading. In the US, Tesla and Ford have just signed an agreement whereby Ford converts to Tesla’s charging system. Ford will give its cars a Tesla plug from 2025. Tesla was the first in the US with electric cars and then developed its own Superchargers. This allowed it to determine for itself which protocols and plugs would be used. But now European and Asian car manufacturers have developed a competitive system that is now also fully present in Europe and the US. There was also no oil giant at the table when it came to the agreements regarding plugs.
Total chooses radically
This does not mean that the oil giants are doing nothing at all. Shell has already bought several smaller chains in the US and is now working on a nationwide network under the name Shell Recharge. In Europe, the group is working with car manufacturers on a network of charging stations along highways. BP has announced that it will invest a billion dollars in its own charging network. And perhaps the most obvious choice is made by the French company Total. It has now sold its 400 filling stations in the Netherlands and will focus entirely on charging stations here. I come across Total charging stations quite often now.
Five years ago I already wrote regarding the charging point battle. It had ignited so clearly that I saw it as proof that electric cars had in fact already won the battle with their fossil predecessors. That is now undeniable. I guessed that energy companies, the electricity suppliers, probably had the best chance of winning the charging station battle. It doesn’t seem that way yet. The car manufacturers are currently pulling the longest straw. But what I find most remarkable: the oil companies have not made any progress in five years, in my opinion, when it comes to market share. Their profits are crashing into the plinths, but are they really investing substantially in their future? I don’t see them doing it (yet).
In his weblog ‘Vincent wants sun’, Vincent Dekker highlights innovations and developments in the field of green energy, close to and far from home. More episodes at Trouw.nl/vincentwilzon. Vincent also has a podcast, including regarding batteries and electric cars – check it out via this link or look it up through the known channels.
Read also:
The charging station battle shows: electric driving has already won
Anyone who still doubts whether electric driving will win out over petrol and hydrogen cars, only has to look at the battle for the charging station. From Tesla to BMW, from Shell to BP, from E.On to EDF and from Fastned to Chargemaster: everyone is focusing on the ‘power pump’. In the end, the consumer wins
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