Rob Hughes - Co-Founder of Cosmic Charging

By Tom Seymour

Last updated: Nov 25th 2024

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Landlords and their tenants shouldn't be left behind when it comes to the switch to electric vehicles.

For people living in the city in flats or properties without dedicated parking, the shift to EV isn't just about the car—it's about how and where to charge it.

Towns and cities across the UK are also increasingly looking to introduce Clean Air Zones, which further incentivises residents, no matter their living situation, to switch to an EV.

Cosmic Charging launched this summer to help solve what Rob Hughes, co-founder, describes as "the last large humdinger of a problem for EV adoption", which is the availability of convenient and cost-effective charging for those living in flats or apartments.

Hughes' background previously working for Mitie, the facilities management company and then charging solution provider Pod Point, set him on a path to strike out with his business partner and fellow Cosmic co-founder Jay Stevens to provide a solution to the conundrum of installing fit-for-purpose, strategically thought out charging infrastructure for multi-occupancy dwellings.

What's the benefit for landlords?

The concept uses the Government's EV infrastructure and chargepoint grants funding, to "take the edge off" the investment needed by landlords to put charging provision in place, but also foster confidence with funders to get the money in place to push ahead with projects.

The EV infrastructure grant offers up to £30,000 or 75% of the cost of putting EV charging infrastructure in place.

Landlords can then get either £350 or 75% off the cost to buy and install a home charging socket, whichever amount is lower.

They can access grant funding for charge points for up to 200 grants each financial year for residential properties.

Hughes said: "Any charging infrastructure put in place needs to bring good value to the resident, an improved day to day existence for the property manager and then the freeholder needs to see the benefit too.

There have been reports that adding charging infrastructure to these kinds of facilities can add a 2.5% increase in property value.

Even if we're looking at that more modestly at 0.5%, I think that answers the question of whether there's value in doing this, beyond doing what's right for drivers, tenants and for net zero goals.

We have to put this together in a way that works for landlords because they're a big part of this."

EV adoption for residents in flats is currently one-third of the UK average.

However, that means there's significant pent-up demand.

There are around 4.7 million households in apartments, flats and maisonettes in the UK.

However, there's a lack of data on how many of them have parking.

Cosmic estimates there are about four million that need a solution from that number, with 2.5m viable for what it is offering in the short to medium term.

The noise from tenants and property managers looking to mediate will only get louder.

Once EV charging becomes convenient, it acts as a major accelerant for further adoption. It means forward-thinking landlords can get assistance with funding now and have properties that are future-proofed.

Cosmic works directly with landlords, freeholders, property managers, as well as with residents to encourage an outcome that works for all stakeholders.

Hughes encourages residents to get in touch, but also speak with their property manager or landlord about what Cosmic does.

Landlords can future proof their assets, with Cosmic helping to strategically guide charging infrastructure projects and residents can make the switch to EVs knowing they have access to the same convenience as those charging at homes with off-street parking.

Hughes said: "Cosmic Charging is solely focused on the residential sector because the market is big enough and challenging enough to need a dedicated focus.

We need to make sure that every usage case for EVs has a sensible solution for charging their vehicles."

It's something the Government agreed with, shifting funding focus for home charger grants to the residential rental sector.

Hughes was heavily involved in providing guidance and feedback on putting Government grant funding in place to help address the lack of charging for those who are renting.

Both Hughes and Stevens also provided feedback for the Part S regulations in England, which require active chargers and the provision for future chargers in all new builds in the UK.

All parking spaces are not created equal

Like Smart Home Charge's guide sets out, putting charging provision in place at a flat isn't impossible, but it's more complicated than a dwelling that has dedicated private off-street parking.

Frustrated tenants can sometimes strike out on their own and put individual home charging solutions in place, but this can lead to further frustration down the line for other tenants, as well as the freeholder that is looking to cater to more EV owners in the future.

Hughes believes it's better and more cost effective for all involved to plan strategically for the future, rather than add infrastructure on a piecemeal basis.

The Cosmic team has distilled the process into two key questions: who owns the car park, and how is it subdivided?

The answer to those questions largely determines the complexity—and the cost—of the installation.

Hughes said: "Before I got into this world I used to think a parking space was just a parking space. 

You either have the right to park somewhere, but not a designated spot, or you have a demised parking bay. For example, flat 32 has to park in bay 32."

Charging infrastructure installations must account for load management, power capacity, cabling, and, importantly, funding.

For dedicated parking spaces, Cosmic offers a subscription model where residents pay a monthly fee for access to a charging point and a preferential tariff. 

"We're able to offer drivers around a 50% saving vs charging on the public network and around 40% compared with combustion fuels.

The resident pays for their charger but not the future proofing load management and cabling that we install on day one," Hughes adds.

For shared parking zones, a more flexible pay-as-you-go model is offered, with multiple chargers serving a pool of residents at a dedicated EV charging zone within the car park.

Hughes added: "We can offer a pay-as-you-go model in these circumstances because the EV spaces are grouped together so we can reflect that lower complexity with that kind of pricing structure for residents to pay for the charging."

Lift-off

Cosmic Charging has set a couple of trial installations that will go live this autumn.

Hughes is preparing to ramp up further across the UK, but is focussing on working on projects where landlords and property managers are fully engaged.

The end goal for Cosmic is to make it possible for any resident living in a block of flats to get EV infrastructure within a reasonable timeframe.

Cosmic is currently targeting locations with higher EV adoption rates and property managers keen to act on the growing demand.

Hughes said: "If everyone's on board and fully engaged, we can get infrastructure installed in about three months. Once that's done, it only takes five to 10 days to install individual chargers for residents."

Despite some consumer confidence wobbles around the UK's ICE (internal combustion engine) ban being pushed back or brought forward from 2030 to 2035, Cosmic's co-founder remains optimistic for future EV adoption.

Hughes said: "The global car market is heading in one direction and it's towards zero-emission vehicles.

Just because the UK changes a deadline one way or another doesn't change the fact that manufacturers and governments worldwide are still focused on EVs."

He believes UK policy has generally been supportive and that things are moving in the right direction. And as Cosmic Charging looks to the future, the goal is clear: to make charging simple and available to all.

So, if you're a property manager or landlord, it might be time to start thinking about how you can prepare as EV home charging moves from being a nice to have, to a necessity for all.