E.ON Group Innovation Employee Stories: Arne Bollens on Dynamic Pricing

Dynamic pricing models have gotten a lot of media attention lately. What does the term mean in the context of E.ON Group Innovation’s eMobility offer and how did the offer come about?

Working closely with the E.ON eMobility brands, our regular innovation rounds with colleagues from E.ON Drive Infrastructure Solutions (EDRI) brought us to the topic of dynamic pricing. We asked ourselves: "How can we improve the charging offer and benefit of the customer by using existing successors in other markets?? We quickly identified pricing and availability as the most impactful issues to benefit the customer. As we were already working on availability in another project, we focused on pricing.

After a long period of planning, we were finally able to offer dynamic pricing to customers in Copenhagen at E.ON Drive Infrastructure's charging points, as a joint collaboration with our Danish colleagues. Initially, we were able to offer discounts of 50% per kWh because there was so much renewable energy from the sun and wind in the grid.

What convinced you that dynamic pricing would work?

I knew from the outset that EV customers are price-sensitive and look for low-cost charging options. So, I was convinced from the start that a dynamic pricing model would work and could change the whole EV pricing landscape at public charging. But the question was - what kind of method would be successful? Offering dynamic pricing to pass on favourable electricity prices to customers was one thing, and will be the key element we thought, but what ultimately came out was the environmental impact. Through our discounted windows during the day, we manage to increase the use of green renewable energy when it is available on the grid.? The EDRI charger always sells green electricity and in our discount times the energy mix contains a higher proportion of renewable energy from wind and solar.

Why was Copenhagen chosen for the pilot project[3]??

Copenhagen is an EV city with more than 36,000 EV drivers. And it was definitely a plus that the Danes are familiar with dynamic electricity prices in their households. In addition, EDRI's charging network gives us the perfect setup for our pilot.

The proximity to the Copenhagen market, made possible by Anders Pedersen's team, was particularly helpful. Communication in the market is extremely important in this area.

Was the pilot successful? What insights did you learn?

Thanks to our targeted communication strategy, we realised early on that the offer was of interest to both the Danish and international markets. Our goal was to reach every one of the 36,000 EV drivers in Copenhagen. After two campaigns, we measured 100,000 individuals reached.

It was a market entry with a bang. After about three months, we really noticed that it was taking off. We saw a change in charging behaviour.? It was clear that people have to change their habits and that doesn't happen overnight.

What were the most surprising results?

Personally, I was surprised at how high some of the discounts were, thanks to the windy and sunny weather conditions. We were able to pass on 50% of the charging price at selected locations to the customer right from the start.?

I also see it as a great success that our discounts have persuaded many customers to change their charging behaviour and shift to time slots with more renewable energy.

What do you envision for the future of dynamic pricing solutions?

I think there's a big future for the customer solution. I believe that dynamic pricing for EV users at public charging will become standard, just as it is for household electricity. eMobility is the future of individual mobility and people compare prices and want to save money.? The comparison with petrol stations is very close and the new EV drivers are mostly former internal combustion engine drivers.

Today, classic algorithms are used and not yet artificial intelligence (AI) in the dynamic pricing solution. Many exciting ideas on how AI could be implemented are already in the backlog. For example, using weather data, network information or other influences, dynamic pricing can be enabled and improved in the future to influence charging sessions in a more targeted and economical way to achieve environmental and network infrastructure goals.

What impact does dynamic pricing have on the energy transition?

The price of electricity is reduced when a lot of renewable energy from PV or wind is fed into the grid, creating an energy surplus. When this lower price is passed on to customers, they change their charging behaviour and more renewable energy is charged in EVs when it is also available on the grid.

Put simply, charging cheaply means doing something good for the environment. This means that EV driving can be made cheaper through careful price monitoring, and that EV driving can not only make a contribution, but also improve it through conscious charging.