Octopus gets Fully Charged

Octopus is at the forefront of the push to move away from petrol-based cars to electric vehicles, EVs. That’s why we were delighted to partner with Fully Charged, the YouTube channel dedicated to all things EV. It’s presented by actor Robert Llewellyn, and we were thrilled to take part in their three-day event at home of British motor racing Silverstone in June.

Have a look at their video below.

A staggering 10,000 electric vehicle aficionados (double last year’s crowds), descended on Silverstone for the event. It’s no exaggeration to say that this is the premier event for the British EV industry, and it was fantastic to meet the movers and shakers at the forefront of this revolutionary movement to switch to clean, renewable types of transport that don’t compromise on style and flair.

In the main hall, we demonstrated the latest in energy efficiency smart tech, including the FLIR thermal imaging camera (so you can see where heat is escaping at home), smart meters and IHDs, plus we showcased our groundbreaking Octopus Go tariff, which allows EV drivers to charge their cars for four hours every night at just 5p per kWh. That’s 50% cheaper than the typical Economy 7 night rate and, of course, it’s all lovely, 100% renewable electricity. Not to mention our V2G (vehicle to grid) product bundle, Powerloop.

Outside in the paddock, we were demonstrating the Nissan Leaf and the Jaguar I-Pace. We mentioned style and flair earlier, and that is what is embodied in the I-Pace, which took the coveted 2019 World Car of the Year award. And one lucky visitor to the show won our competition to take one away for the weekend to luxury eco-hotel The Greenhouse in Bournemouth – heartfelt congratulations to Sheila George of Southampton. Conveniently, a single charge should see her bowling along the south coast to enjoy this treat!

We also had EV experts on hand to talk about our amazing V2G (vehicle to grid) product bundle that lets you sell back surplus energy you buy in the small hours when it is cheapest and sell it back when it is most expensive, in the early-evening peak time. It’s cutting-edge stuff that is really allowing us to pull away from the competition.

And it was the launch of Octopus Electric Vehicles and Wallbox’s partnership to bring Wallbox’s revolutionary vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology to the UK: the smallest and lightest residential V2G charge point in the UK (and to our knowledge, the world). We’re calling We showcased the Wallbox charge point at Fully Charged Live.

Wallbox – in just four years of operation – have developed some of the most advanced electric vehicle charging technology on the market. Their latest product is a V2G charger, the smallest and lightest charger of its kind in the world. The first of these units to roll-off the factory floor will be going into the homes of Octopus’s V2G customers.

And in our VIP chill zone, we hosted Octopus Recharge, with free massages and fun for the little ones in our Kidzone, with face-painting and a “design your own EV” challenge.

Our own Fiona Howarth , chief executive of Octopus EV division, took part in a round-table discussion called ‘Car Ownership – But Not As You Know It.’ And our Director of Product and Marketing, Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, banged the Octopus drum about our groundbreaking time-of-use tariffs on a panel discussion called ‘How can energy tariffs change your consumption?’

It was a superb event and certainly left us feeling Fully Charged – and looking forward to more of the same next year!