Intelligent Charging — Nicolai Joshua

Impact

Up to 70% reduction in CO₂ footprint per charge
The majority of home charging sessions now happen via intelligent charging
The solution actively contributes to stabilising the electricity grid

Context and purpose

Throughout the day, both electricity prices and CO₂ intensity vary significantly. An electric vehicle can easily double a household's electricity consumption, and the potential for shifting usage to the best times of day is enormous.

Our purpose was to give Clever's customers the ability to charge at the best times, for their wallet, for the climate, and for the grid, without making their everyday life more complicated.

The problem we solved

Even motivated users rarely have the time or overview to actively plan when they charge. It requires knowledge of electricity price fluctuations, CO₂ data, and personal driving patterns, information most people simply do not have access to in a busy day.

On top of that, the technological infrastructure in 2021 was not yet mature enough for a fully automated solution. We had a clear vision, but had to build towards it step by step.

Research and insights

We conducted qualitative interviews and observations to understand users' charging habits and attitudes, supplemented by quantitative studies to validate our assumptions at scale.

Most users want to do the right thing, but only if it does not come at the cost of convenience or money
Users wanted confirmation that their actions actually make a difference
Price and CO₂ are closely correlated, but not identical, so the solution needed to weigh both
A solution requiring active daily input from the user would have low adoption

The central conclusion: automation was not just a feature. It was a prerequisite for the solution to work in practice.

The solution in the Clever app

The vision was clear from the start, but we built towards it in three steps as the technology matured.

Step 1

Delayed charging Users could choose to delay charging until the night, when electricity is typically cheaper and less CO₂-intensive.

Step 2

Scheduled charging Users entered their departure time and charging needs in the app. Clever then automatically optimised the timing. This solution proved too complex for many users.

Step 3

Full automation via Enode Users connect their car through an Enode integration in the app. Clever then takes over completely, optimising continuously without the user having to do anything.

My role was to drive user understanding and concept development, and to ensure that throughout the process we stayed true to the research insights. The solution needed to feel invisible and trustworthy, not like a task.

Intelligent charging is an area we continue to refine and improve on an ongoing basis.

What did we learn?

A strong vision can hold the direction even when the technology is not ready yet. It requires patience and incremental solutions.
Complexity in the interface is an adoption killer. The more we could remove from the user's screen, the better it worked.
Users want to do the right thing, but they need it to be made easy for them and to see that it actually makes a difference.