Episode 27

Future of Electric Vehicle Charging Ep27: Edoardo Taricco, Gregory Offer & Jade Edwards

To reach net zero, we need to electrify transport—from personal vehicles to heavy goods trucks.

In this episode, Edoardo Taricco, a mechanical engineer and recent graduate of the MSc in Sustainable Energy Futures programme at Imperial College London, explores the future of electric vehicles and sustainable travel.

Guests

Gregory Offer – Professor in electrochemical science and engineering at Imperial College London. His work focuses on battery, fuel cell, and supercapacitor technologies for transport applications.
Jade Edwards – Head of Insights at Zapmap, a leading source of EV charging data and analysis. Her team examines EV charging infrastructure, driver behavior, and industry trends.

Topics Discussed

The evolving EV market – Trends in consumer behavior, policy, and global adoption.
Charging infrastructure – Innovations, accessibility, and user experience.
Electrifying heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) – Technological challenges, emerging solutions, and alternatives beyond batteries.
The role of EVs in grid stability – How bidirectional charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology could reshape energy systems.
Decarbonizing transport – The need for smaller EVs, active transport, and better public transit integration.

Chapters & Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction

00:42 – Meet our guests

03:20 – The shift to EVs: consumer trends and policy drivers

06:40 – Overcoming range anxiety and lifestyle changes with EVs

12:17 – The potential of EVs in supporting the energy grid

19:51 – Charging infrastructure: accessibility, investment, and rollout challenges

30:35 – Standardization and payment systems in EV charging

40:03 – Battery technology, thermal management, and future improvements

50:01 – The relationship between EV sales and charging infrastructure growth

53:05 – The rise of SUVs and challenges in decarbonizing transport

58:34 – Electrifying heavy goods vehicles: challenges and solutions