Electric Insights | Pod Point

In this Electric Insights episode we talk to Emma about the current energy crisis, the pandemic giving rise to more flexible working practices, sustainable tech and realising the value flexibility, and getting proactive in the pursuit of diversity and modern leadership. All great stuff, and somewhere in there Emma also committed to making her first car an EV!

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Who's Emma Pinchbeck?

Emma has been CEO of Energy UK, the trade association for the energy industry in the UK with 100 members (including lil’ ol’ Pod Point), since September 2020. She previously served as Deputy Chief Executive of Renewable UK and Head of Climate Change and Energy for the World Wildlife Foundation.

Emma is a passionate advocate for greater diversity and inclusion within the energy sector and has won acclaim for seamlessly balancing her high-pressured leadership role with raising her young child.

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Highlights of this episode include:

- Reforms to help electrons fix the energy crisis

- Pandemic or not - undertakers can’t work from home

- How energy is undergoing an exciting transition, awaiting the “Brunel of electrons”

- Heat is BORING, but she’s still pumped for heat pumps

Could coronavirus deliver a tipping point for fleet electrification?  

James McKemey (Head of Insights, Pod Point) explores the following themes with Mike Coulton (Fleet Product and Policy Manager, Volkswagen Financial Services):  

- The biggest challenges the fleet sector faces today as a result of Covid-19 

- How will fleets operate post coronavirus 

- To what extent will the coronavirus impact on companies’ electrification and mobility strategies 

- Demand for EVs seen at VWFS since the onset of the virus

The National Grid Electric Insights with Graeme Cooper explores the rise of EVs and National Grid’s role in driving the transition to electric. 

Key points from the talk include:

Part 2: 

- Project Rapid and why it's critical to the success of the market 

- Why it's important to incentivise BEV over EV and the role of the PHEV 

- Decarbonisation policy matters: 1) the Treasury's upcoming national infrastructure plan, 2) DfT's 1st Decarbonisation of transport plan for the UK 3) CCC's 6th Carbon budget and implications of

We're delighted to be joined by Graeme Cooper from The National Grid.

This episode explores the rise of EVs and National Grid’s role in driving the transition to electric.   

Part 1: 

- How National Grid coped with lockdown, including employee and business perspectives 

- The role of smart charging on the grid 

- Perspectives on the consultation on ending the sale of non-zero emission vehicles by 2035 or earlier

We’re joined by the Head of the Government’s Office for Low Emissions Vehicle (OLEV) for episode 3 of our Electric Insights series. 

Natasha Robinson is Joint Head (with Vicky Edmonds) of OLEV. She also drives a 2014 Nissan Leaf.  OLEV is a joint unit between the Department for Transport and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the UK Government.   

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In this episode James and Natasha cover a variety of topics including: 

 - The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the uptake of EVs… Is there reason for optimism?  

- The Pathway to NetZero, closing the 2030x consultation and balancing the views of the industry with that of the consumer and fleet manager 

- How to get to 2030 ICE ban and the importance of Project Rapid  

- What to do if you don’t have off-street parking   

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About Electric Insights:   

This brand new series sets out to explore EV technology and infrastructure, the challenges and opportunities associated with the transition to electric and the impact of Covid-19 on the EV industry with key industry figures.  

View more information on the Pod Point blog: https://pod-point.com/electric-car-news

Ralph James is FM & Technical Project Director at The Met Office. Ralph has a vast engineering background and is enthusiastic about sustainability. He shares with us some incredible sustainability initiatives that the Met Office have implemented. Plus, we hear about space weather forecasting which is pretty cool...

Olly Craughan has been with DPD for over 8 years and has vast experience in Operations. Now, as Head of CSR, Olly is on the forefront of DPD's plan to become the most sustainable delivery company. Can you guess how many parcels they expect to deliver in one day after Black Friday over lockdown in 2020?

In this special episode Erik Fairbairn, Pod Point Founder and CEO, switches roles, interviewing the one and only Robert Llewellyn.

Robert is a British actor, presenter and writer, famous for Red Dwarf, Scrapheap Challenge and Carpool. He then turned his hand after being blown away by early electric cars and launched Fully Charged, a YouTube channel focussing on the future of clean energy and electric vehicles, of all shapes and sizes.

In this episode, Erik and Robert continue setting the (sustainability) world to rights, discussing:

• How much of the tech seen on Fully Charged has seeped into Robert’s life.
• What’s next for Fully Charged? Could there be a TV series in the works?
• Zapheap challenge... We’ll say no more, for now.
• A few of Robert’s favourite things, including converting classic cars, his top EV and his funniest EV experience.

In this special episode Erik Fairbairn, Pod Point Founder and CEO, switches roles, interviewing the one and only Robert Llewellyn.

Robert is a British actor, presenter and writer, famous for Red Dwarf, Scrapheap Challenge and Carpool. He then turned his hand after being blown away by early Electric Cars, and launched Fully Charged, a YouTube channel focussing on the future of clean energy and electric vehicles, of all shapes and sizes.

In Part 1, Erik and Robert chew the fat about:

• Which of Robert’s shows have most defined him (cool fact: more people watch a Fully Charged episode in the first week of it going live than used to watch Scrapheap or Red Dwarf).
• How the California Air Resources Board - of all things - shaped Robert’s thinking around EVs.
• What technology from the last 12 months has got him most excited.
• And what exactly does he do with those 38p Red Dwarf royalty cheques?