Sponsored by
Last week, Greenlots announced that in early 2022, the company will become Shell Recharge Solutions. This change unifies Greenlots and its European counterpart, NewMotion, under a single brand — bringing Shell’s regional electric charging services under one identity and helping to further deliver lower-carbon transportation for commercial fleets, businesses, cities, and public charging.
“Our name is changing, but our vision to lower carbon emissions is more focused than ever,” said Andreas Lips, CEO, Greenlots. “We have ambitious targets and as Shell Recharge Solutions we will further integrate the expertise shared across three businesses to provide more customers with smart EV charging solutions, delivered through a consistent brand experience.”
The transformation will help Shell to offer global charging solutions and leverage combined capabilities, market share, and expertise across North America, Europe, and Asia. The change is especially positive for the commercial fleet sector. BloombergNEF estimates that 24% of heavy-duty truck sales will be electric by 2040 and 30% of global fleet sales will be electric by 2040. This increase in commercial electric vehicles will require EV infrastructure to support charging at depots, on-the-go, and at fleet drivers’ homes.
The company also recently announced a partnership with Uber to install Shell Recharge charging stations to provide fast charging to Uber EV drivers in Vancouver, British Columbia, at a significantly reduced fee. Uber EV drivers will have access to fast-charging stations at a reduced cost in regions of the city that have high rideshare utilization. The partnership aims to support Uber’s current fleet of EV drivers with more access to fast charging, while influencing others to make the transition to electric.
Shell Recharge Solutions will design, deliver, and service charging solutions that will support these varying charging needs. Fleet vehicle OEM partnerships are revolutionizing medium- and heavy-duty fleet electrification through projects like Volvo LIGHTS. Since 2018, Volvo LIGHTS has demonstrated the ability for Class 8 battery-electric trucks and equipment to reliably move freight between Los Angeles’ two major ports and warehouses throughout the region with less noise and zero emissions. The project is also innovating both electric truck technology and EV charging solutions for heavy-duty vehicles. Greenlots’ cloud-based SKY software platform seamlessly manages activities between the utility grid, electric trucks, chargers, and distributed renewable energy resources, providing real-time optimization and data to help guide future electric truck deployments.
EV charging energy management solutions, developed at Greenlots’ Innovation Lab in Los Angeles, are helping customers reduce costs, ensure business continuity, and experience the benefits of switching to EVs. An increase in electric commercial vehicles, especially medium- and heavy-duty trucks, will significantly impact the grid due to the high energy demand required to charge. Energy management can shift when charging takes place and reduce high peak loads, which can mitigate negative impacts on the grid. Smart charging solutions optimize charging schedules to reduce cost, minimize grid upgrades, and improve operational efficiency for EV fleets.
The integrated energy management system provided by SKY in Zaltbommel, Netherlands, enables more ultra-fast chargers to be installed at grid constrained locations. The system allows for sustainable charging at lower operating costs and serves as a blueprint that can be replicated at depot-charging locations and other Shell retail sites. Shell is the world’s largest mobility retailer with more than 46,000 global retail sites. Greenlots has been working with Shell since its acquisition to find opportunities to install charging at Shell retail locations, and they will play an important role in providing on-the-go charging infrastructure for commercial fleets and EV drivers.
Another way the company is supporting widespread electrification of commercial vehicles is through bi-lateral roaming. Through industry partnerships, the company launched an expansive bi-lateral roaming network that provides access to more than 57,000 charging points across the U.S. and Canada in 2021. For EV fleets, access to multiple charging networks increases operational efficiency and continuity by providing drivers with more options to charge during a route.
Shell has committed to becoming a net zero emissions business by 2050 or sooner and to operating 500,000 chargers globally by 2025. As Shell Recharge Solutions, the company will bring the EV charging expertise and solutions that will help ensure delivery of these transformative commitments and accelerate continued expansion of electric mobility in North America.
