Pilots of electric planes can charge their aircraft with one tap of a card, says EV charging expert Octopus Energy, following a tie-up between the firm and AeroVolt.
Octopus Electroverse – an award-winning electric vehicle (EV) charging platform – will sync with AeroVolt, the first ever aircraft charging network.
Through this partnership, pilots of electric planes will get access to Electroverse’s easy charging experience at AeroVolt’s airside chargers around the country.
The innovation is the next step in Octopus’ plans to rapidly accelerate the adoption of electric transport.
It comes as studies have shown that electric planes – typically small two-seater planes that do short flights – have a lower climate impact compared to their fossil fuel powered peers.
AeroVolt has charge points installed at seven sites in the UK, including at Bournemouth, Lydd, Dunkeswell, and Shoreham airports, with 12 more to come online soon. The disruptor is already in talks with nearly 70 more airports looking to have chargers installed.
Electroverse – the biggest EV roaming service in the country – has revolutionised on-the-go charging for drivers of electric cars, removing the need for multiple apps to access different charge point brands through its ‘one card, one app’ model.
Pilots who are also Octopus customers enjoy the added benefit of syncing up their public charging costs onto their existing home energy bill, in one simple payment.
This move is the next step in Octopus Energy’s activities to help speed up the transition to green transport. Its Octopus Electric Vehicles division is now the UK’s largest EV-only leasing business and the company is a pioneer in smart tariffs for EVs.
It manages 1GW of shiftable load through its Intelligent Octopus Go tariff, using the company’s cutting-edge tech platform Kraken to charge EVs when it’s cheapest and greenest. Earlier this month the company launched the UK’s first mass market vehicle-to-grid tariff – Octopus Power Pack – enabling free home charging for drivers.
Zoisa North-Bond, Octopus Energy for Business CEO, said: “Octopus is at the forefront of the transition to green transport. It’s incredible to think our skies are cleaner with each new electric plane, and we’re thrilled to make the journey easier for pilots, extending our seamless charging experience for electric cars to electric aircrafts. With just a tap of their Electroverse card, pilots can plug in and power up. This is the start of an exciting transition as we’re set to supercharge the take-off of e-mobility.”
Guy Haydon, Chief Commercial Officer at AeroVolt, said: “As the world’s first aircraft charging network, AeroVolt is on a mission to transform the future of flight with our simple and easy to use network of rapid chargers across prime airfield locations. This exciting partnership with Octopus will both bring AeroVolt’s car chargers into the Electroverse and deliver a market leading aircraft charging experience to electric pilots. True interoperability, charging both your wheels and your wings.”
