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https://thedriven.io/2025/11/07/milk-eggs-and-a-fully-charged-ev-supermarkets-turn-to-solar-canopies-and-public-charging/>
"Supermarkets are muscling in on public electric vehicle (EV) charging as the
“servo of the future”, and may turn out to be the best bet for many nervous new
owners worried about where to charge.
Australia’s supermarket duopoly is built on the idea of a consistent customer
experience – which is exactly what all EV owners are looking for from a public
charger, says Will Beaumont, the CEO of solar canopy specialist Canyon Solar.
“You look at Woolies, they’re all about the consistent user experience. I go
there, I can buy my milk, I can buy my eggs, and I know that they’ve got stock
most of the time, and I’m going to be able to get the things that I need,” he
told
The Driven at the All Energy conference last week.
“The number one determiner of where people charge is convenience. And for most
people that are publicly charging, the supermarket is one of the most
convenient places to charge.”
The issue that supermarkets and shopping centres wanting to offer this service
have to solve, however, is ensuring people always get a consistent charge
speed, no matter whether there’s one person charging or 10.
Providing that consistency is key to maintaining a reputation for reliability,
Beaumont says.
Canyon builds solar carpark canopies and has partnered with Kempower to deliver
EV chargers underneath.
The business case for supermarkets is to have a charger that can charge an EV
battery to 80 per cent in 40-60 minutes, about the time it takes a person to do
their groceries or perhaps a little more, to keep them in store to spend a bit
more – and keep them locked into the company’s loyalty scheme."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
