On a Mission to End 'Charge Anxiety' - Mobility Moments with Bonnet CEO Patrick Reich

Bonnet is a platform which allows EV drivers to use and identify available charging points through one simple app. The UK startup was founded in 2020 by Patrick Reich and Eliot Makabu to give drivers easy access to the widest possible network of public EV chargepoints and help them avoid 'charge anxiety'.

On this week's Mobility Moments, we talk to Reich, Bonnet's Co-Founder and CEO, about decarbonising the delivery sector and its recently announced partnership with logistics group DPD.

"Improving accessibility and enhancing the way EV users can interact with the public charging network is a key part of our mission,"  Reich tells Auto Futures.

Describe the key benefits of the Bonnet app

The app connects 17+ of the best EV charging networks across the UK and Europe under one roof – including GeniePoint, Ionity, and Char.gy to name a few. For drivers, this means that with only one app, one account and one payment, you can access 65,000 chargepoints with one simple payment system.

As it stands today, we are the only platform that connects directly to chargepoint operators’ hardware, so we can provide our app users with live data keeping them informed about which charge points are available and operational. As well as this, we use community-submitted data to make the app’s information even more reliable.

What are the Bonnet Refills/how do they work?

Bonnet’s pricing model guarantees EV drivers competitive charging rates through our dynamic monthly refill plans. For instance, while our ‘Pay As You Go’ plan charges drivers a standard rate of 50p per kWh, purchasing a refill plan (paying for a volume of electricity in advance) lowers the rate of the kWh - and any unused refill is automatically rolled over to the next month.

Describe your partnership with DPD

In July 2022 we announced our partnership with leading parcel delivery company DPD. The partnership provides DPD’s growing number of UK EV drivers with access to Bonnet’s app, helping them to make public charging more efficient through standardised costing and reliability around operational charging points – ensuring DPD drivers have real-time information on chargepoint availability at their fingertips.

How can Bonnet help decarbonise the delivery sector?

Our partnership with DPD is a perfect example of the sort of B2B impact we want to support at scale. Complete decarbonisation of the delivery sector obviously cannot be achieved overnight, but we can make the EV charging experience easier – especially for companies like DPD who currently deliver to over 30 towns and cities using EVs – then it’s a step in the right direction.

What are Bonnet's growth plans?

Bonnet currently covers over 32,000 charging locations and 65,000 charging points with networks such as Shell Recharge, ESB and Char.gy available through the app. While we’re pleased with the rapid progress made so far, continuing to expand our chargepoint offering is one of our core priorities and we plan to offer semi-public and private chargers to the network soon.

We also have plans to launch Bonnet Premium, which will offer users additional features including route planning, and direct car connectivity, allowing users to read the state of charge in real time for 16 different car models.

What more needs to be done to promote EVs in the UK?

Several different initiatives can and should be put in place to incentivise motorists to make the switch to electric. Government grants like the Electric Vehicle Home Charging Scheme – which offered a 75% contribution towards the cost of a chargepoint and its installation – are a great example of this. It was disappointing to see them scrapped.

Educating consumers on the environment-positive impact that EVs offer compared to ICE vehicles is also of utmost importance. While data shows that nearly two-thirds of drivers are very or extremely environmentally concerned (which is likely to influence their future buying decisions) there’s certainly more awareness that needs to be raised on the issue.

Finally, increasing the number of CPOs across the UK – especially in the North of England where they are a rarer sight – will go hand-in-hand with alleviating feelings of charge anxiety for current and prospective EV users.

What will transportation look like by 2030?

In an ideal world, ICE vehicles will be a thing of the past! While EVs are still outnumbered by petrol and diesel vehicles, their adoption has grown considerably: more EVs were registered in 2021 than in the entire preceding five years combined, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The 2030 ban on petrol and diesel vehicles is a key factor behind this: hopefully this will create other important changes, like prompting an improvement in air quality, and making electric driving lessons the new norm within the next 8 years.

Fleets and delivery services going green will make a significant difference in the push to net zero. We’re really pleased to be ‘powering’ DPD and would love to see more delivery companies become more environmentally-savvy with cleaner last mile delivery services that tackle noise pollution and poor air quality in cities.

By 2030, locating a chargepoint should also be a non-issue. Data from January 2022 shows that there were 28,375 public EV charging devices available in the UK, representing a 9% increase since