‘Tap and take-off’ charging for electric aircraft

Octopus Energy and Aerovolt partnership takes off, promising greener transport and cleaner skies 

Chocks away – again! Just last week, we reported that Aerovolt. the first ever aircraft charging network, will provide charging systems to Snowdonia Aerospace Centre to power eVTOL craft, so that the site can develop and test ‘air taxis’: drone services capable of ferrying people.  Now, Aerovolt has partnered with Octopus Energy to make charging electric aircraft much quicker and simpler all around the country. 

Electrically powered aircraft charging from an Aerovolt charepoint, photo courtesy of Aerovolt

The partnership is part of Octopus’s broader initiative to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). The benefits of EVs have long been understood: they don’t produce tail-pipe emissions and can be powered by sustainable sources of energy. 

In fact, Octopus is at the forefront of EV tech. The company’s EVs division is now the UK’s largest EV-only leasing business, while Octopus is also pioneering smart tariffs for EVs. Shiftable load of 1GW is managed through the Intelligent Octopus Go tariff, using the company’s cutting-edge Kraken platform to charge EVs when it’s cheapest and greenest. Last month, the company also launched Power Pack, the UK’s first mass market vehicle-to-grid tariff, enabling free home charging for drivers. 

Then there’s Octopus Electroverse, the biggest EV roaming service in the country, transforming on-the-go charging for drivers. Its ‘one card, one app’ model means there’s no need for multiple apps to access different chargepoint brands. Electroverse also boasts an interactive global map showing chargepoints and availability, a route-planner, in-car support with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Plug & Charge support, and more. 

These are the features now being made available to pilots of electrically powered aircraft through the partnership with Aerovolt. 

Aerovolt already has EV chargepoints installed at seven UK sites, including at Bournemouth, Dunkeswell, Lydd and Shoreham airports, with a further 12 sites to be ready for charging soon. The company is in talks with many more airports around the country about expanding its service. 

By joining up to the Electroverse system, these chargepoints can be accessed swiftly and easily, which will make it much easier to encourage pilots to transition to electric. What’s more, pilots who are already Octopus customers can enjoy the added benefit of syncing up their public charging costs on to their existing home energy bill, in one simple payment. 

Zoisa North-Bond, Octopus Energy for Business CEO, says: ‘Octopus is at the forefront of the transition to green transport. It’s incredible to think our skies are cleaner with each new electric plane, and we’re thrilled to make the journey easier for pilots, extending our seamless charging experience for electric cars to electric aircraft. With just a tap of their Electroverse card, pilots can plug in and power up. This is the start of an exciting transition as we’re set to supercharge the take-off of e-mobility.’ 

Guy Haydon, Chief Commercial Officer at Aerovolt, adds: ‘As the world’s first aircraft charging network, Aerovolt is on a mission to transform the future of flight with our simple and easy to use network of rapid chargers across prime airfield locations. This exciting partnership with Octopus will both bring Aerovolt’s car chargers into the Electroverse and deliver a market leading aircraft charging experience to electric pilots. True interoperability, charging both your wheels and your wings.’

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