Igloo Energy launches EV charging app to cut emissions

Challenger brand Igloo Energy is trialling a “smart technology” app to help reduce Tesla charging emissions by 20 per cent and make journeys “greener”.

The company says owners of the electric vehicles (EVs) could expect to cut their carbon emissions by that amount over the course of a year.

The EV app links a customer’s Tesla and Igloo Energy accounts and automatically charges the car at times when carbon emissions from the electricity used are at their lowest.

Igloo says the technology analyses National Grid forecasts to select times when low carbon generation is feeding into the grid, rather than using the first available electricity.

Users can set a time by which they want their car charged and the app will “ensure it is ready” by the time they need it. If customers then need their car charged more quickly, they can override the setting in the app and the car will be ready “as soon as possible”.

Matt Clemow, chief executive of Igloo Energy, said: “We’re always looking for ways to help our customers reduce how and when they use energy, while minimising the effort our customers need to put in to do so. Our new app links to the existing Tesla electric car account to further reduce its carbon footprint, and it requires minimum effort on the customer’s part.

“The electricity grid in the UK is supplied by many different types of generation, whether that be renewables like wind, solar or hydro through to dirtier fuels like coal and gas. By setting your car to recharge when the generation that’s actually supplying the grid is as clean as possible it cuts actual carbon emissions – making journeys even cleaner.”

The app is currently only available for Tesla customers, but Igloo aims for other EV users to be able to use the technology in the “coming months”.

Igloo has calculated a 20 per cent fall in the carbon intensity of electricity consumed by moving a regular four-hour charge from 6pm to 1am for the period 1 Jan 2018 to 31 December 2018.

The company launched a £500,000 investment round on the European equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs in November last year.

It said funds raised will be used to “continue the development of its customer platform” and “expand the range of energy related products and services” it offers.

In August 2018, Igloo Energy was awarded more than £1 million in grants to develop its energy saving software in partnership with two universities.

The company launched a smartphone app in April last year to enable customers to “stay in control” of their energy usage, manage their account, view bills and take meter readings.