A-to-Z EV Rally: Team myenergi

Planning for the A-to-Z EV Rally is in full swing for Team myenergi. Tom Callow, the company's Head of Public Affairs, shares why they decided to get involved and what Rally participants can expect when they get to the myenergi checkpoint on day three 

Could you tell us a little about myenergi and the solutions you offer that can help with the transition to electric vehicles?

myenergi is a British designer, developer and manufacturer of smart home energy technology, including the world’s first solar EV charger – the zappi. We were founded by our genius engineer, Lee Sutton, and our genius marketeer, Jordan Brompton, in 2016 and today are a profitable business employing more than 250 people that has been ranked as one of the UK’s fastest-growing companies for consecutive years.

We have sold more than 600,000 devices in more than 20 international markets from our base in the Humber region, near Grimsby. Our zappi charger helps EV drivers charge directly from their own energy, including solar, wind or hydro, which can reduce their costs, their emissions, and the impact on the grid.

In many ways, the zappi was the original smart charger, tying in with dynamic and time-of-use tariffs to give customers the best value when charging from the grid, including with Intelligent Octopus Go. Beyond EV charging, we also offer EV drivers the chance to participate in grid services, including Demand Side Response, with over 500MW of connected capacity from our devices in the UK alone.

We are delighted that myenergi is joining us on the EV Rally for the first time this year. Could you tell us why you decided to participate?

Our purpose is to remove the barriers to a greener future, whether they are technological, financial, behavioural, or something else.

We see that myths about electric vehicles continue to be amplified in the media and in society at large, and believe it is important to dispel these myths, including demonstrating the capability of electric vehicles through a long-distance rally.

The EV Rally is not only about showcasing the capability of electric vehicles, but also the breadth of choice that is now on offer to consumers, showing that there really is starting to be an electric vehicle to suit anyone.

Please tell us about Team myenergi - who will be driving and in what vehicles?

Our drivers will include Ben Harris, Sales Manager for our Partner Channel and Poppy Fox, our Key Account Lead. We are entering two vehicles, with one mainly being used for our film crew 

The Rally is over 1,400 miles and this year will be visiting towns and checkpoints from A to Z in alphabetical order. What do you expect the challenges to be and are you going into the Rally with any particular strategy?

The electric vehicles being entered are all so capable that the biggest challenge could be the likely lack of jeopardy! Our team is really looking forward to tackling the challenge for the first time and joining the other incredible teams and vehicles taking part.

On Day three, teams will head to the 'myenergi' head office to visit your state-of-the-art facilities. Please tell us what teams can expect when they get there?

The myenergi facility in Stallingborough is like nothing else in the UK in our sector and we will be warmly welcome the teams and vehicles from the EV Rally.

We have recently opened our new production facility – joining an existing head office facility – which can produce thousands of products every week. The facility includes a state-of-the-art surface mount technology line where we manufacture printed circuit boards from scratch.

We really do manufacture in the UK and not just assemble, like many of our competitors, who often simply rebrand and re-box a product from another market. While it is never guaranteed, sparkii, the myenergi mascot, may even make an appearance!

Why are events like the EV Rally important for driving up electric-vehicle adoption?

In the early days of the motor car, many people simply did not believe that they would ever succeed. Concerns about their range, refuelling and practicality were rife and the pioneers of the automotive industry had to prove their vehicles by taking part in road trials to test their limits and to show an often sceptical public that they were safe, convenient and capable.

Today, we are re-living history with electric vehicles and having to prove all of the same points over again, to a public that is sometimes similarly sceptical, and is certainly being misled by many myths. Events like the EV Rally help to break down the knowledge and experience barriers and show people not just what electric vehicles are available, but what they can do.

Please tell us about myenergi's future sustainability plans and progress?

In manufacturing products designed to help customers reduce their emissions and live a more sustainable lifestyle, especially when it comes to the consumption of their own renewable energy, we do our best to be as considerate as possible about our own environmental impact.

Sustainability is about more than just the environment, and we have a sustainability strategy in place that covers topics as broad as energy efficiency, employee wellbeing and responsible business behaviour.

We are proud to say that myenergi has been awarded a bronze medal from global sustainability ratings service, Ecovadis, following the completion of an assessment to rate our supplier sustainability impact, with recommendations that will show us a pathway to a silver medal and beyond.

A lot of our current work involves tracking and tracing the impact of our business activities right through the supply chain, which can be incredibly challenging to monitor and measure, but we are determined to get the best possible picture of our impact and take appropriate actions to reduce it wherever possible.

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