As the UK accelerates its journey toward net zero, innovative solutions are becoming a critical test for the EV transition. From delivery fleets to public charging access, the pressure is on to ensure infrastructure can keep pace with soaring demand.
With EVCharge Live UK opening its doors this week, we caught up with Giles Shrimpton, Country Director UK for Last Mile Solutions, to discuss how Europe’s largest e-mobility platforms are preparing for the next phase of growth.
Your platform connects over 240,000 charge points, supports more than 850,000 roaming points, and processes over 3.5 million transactions monthly across 22 countries.
How do you maintain reliability and scalability at such a scale?
Giles: We’ve experienced exponential growth in recent years – the number of charge points doubles every year. Reliability in this industry must be built before it’s needed, so we design our systems to anticipate tomorrow’s demand.
That means investing ahead of the curve in both infrastructure and processes. Automation and quality are central, and we were the first in the segment to achieve triple ISO certification in quality, security, and privacy. Our network runs 24/7, 365 days a year, with most incidents resolved automatically before they affect customers.
We’re already testing architecture proven to handle over 500,000 charge points, with scalability to 1 million – the level we believe is necessary for the next phase of the industry.
On roaming, today we connect hundreds of specialist CPOs across Europe. With our one card, you can access over 850,000 charge points. That’s only possible through strict adherence to open standards and close collaboration across the industry – something that makes EV charging unique.
Talk to us about your project with Shell.
Giles: Large-scale migrations are critical operations – it’s not just technical integration, it’s doing it without disrupting end users or operator revenue. This year, with Shell Recharge Solutions and 50five, we’re executing the largest migration in European history: over 100,000 charge points, 10,000 of which are in the UK.
Success depends on four things:
- Certification: Our platform supports over 300 models, covering 98% of charge points in Europe.
- Connectivity: Newer stations with eSIMs can be integrated automatically, but older ones need physical SIM swaps, requiring coordinated changeovers to avoid disruption.
- Data integrity: We clean, reformat, and validate all data before migration.
- Testing: Every station is tested before going live.
Speed matters, but trust is crucial – migrations must never come at the cost of reliability.
We’ve taken over part of Shell’s business while they focus on DC charging. Our partner 50five, a major Dutch installer, is handling Shell’s home and commercial business. This reflects a broader trend in the industry: companies refocusing rather than fully divesting.
Talk to us about your partnership with Visa and its wider impact.
Giles: This combines two market leaders: we lead in EV fleet and roaming technology, while Visa leads in global payments. Together, we’re creating a unified solution for fleet and company car drivers across Europe.
Fleet drivers today mainly use RFID cards running on OCPI. Visa has developed its Fleet 2.0 technology, which brings open-loop payments into the mix, letting customers manage and report on EV charging transactions like corporate credit cards.
The market is evolving. Around 80% of public chargers in Europe are AC with RFID readers, while 20% are DC fast chargers with payment terminals. Regulation is pushing more payment terminals – in the UK, terminals are mandated for chargers over 8kW, and in the EU for over 50kW. In practice, RFID and terminals will co-exist for years.
Our joint offering with Visa ensures fleets can operate seamlessly in both worlds, giving CPOs flexibility to meet future customer and regulatory needs.
What are the biggest challenges you see in 2026 for charge point operators and e-mobility platforms?
Giles: The challenge isn’t just rolling out more charge points – it’s making them active participants in the broader energy system. As Europe shifts from fossil fuels to renewables, charging networks must help stabilise the grid.
We already have projects enabling this future. For example, DHL in the Netherlands uses our EDGE Smart Controller to charge twice as many vehicles overnight, prioritising solar and storage within existing grid connections.
In Rotterdam, with Equans and SMATCH, 15,000 public charge points act as a virtual power plant, balancing supply and demand. And in Utrecht, with Renault and We Drive Solar, we’re piloting vehicle-to-grid technology, enabling EVs to feed power back to the grid during peak demand.
Operators will need to see charge points not just as endpoints, but as intelligent, flexible assets in the wider energy ecosystem.
As Gold Sponsor at EVCharge Live UK, how does your presence at the show reflect your European market strategy?
Giles: The UK is a strategic growth market for us, and EVCharge Live offers the right balance – focused on e-mobility but embedded within the UK’s largest solar and storage event. It attracts CPOs, energy companies, and infrastructure partners.
Our strategy is to be present wherever the energy transition conversation is happening – charging, generation, grid, storage. That’s where the real innovations happen, and EVCharge Live is an ideal platform.
Will you be showcasing any projects at EVCharge Live UK?
Giles: Yes. We’ll showcase our EDGE Smart Charging solution, which optimises charging between stations, the grid, solar, and storage.
We’ll also present our partnership with Mastercard on cloud-based payment terminals. This lets CPOs manage charge points and payment terminals on a unified, hardware-agnostic platform. We believe this cloud-based approach will be the most future-proof solution for CPOs facing rapid growth and evolving payment regulations.
This series covers the developing electric vehicles market of the UK and its increasing infrastructure, as the nation advances its net-zero goals.
For all things EV, don’t miss out on your free ticket to EVCharge Live UK – taking place 23-25 September 2025.
