OPTIMAL CHARGING

Leaders or Followers

 

&

Optimal Charging: Fleet Electrification

24 March 2026

IET London: Savoy Place | #LeadersOrFollowers

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Co-located with Optimal Charging: Leaders or Followers on 24 March, offering shared networking and exhibition opportunities to drive industry collaboration.

Bringing together infrastructure hosts, landowners, fleet leaders, facilitators and innovators under one roof.

Take Me to Optimal Charging: Fleet Electrification

Join the Movement Transforming EV Charging in the UK

Empowering UK corporate leaders to scale EV charging infrastructure swiftly, smartly and cost-effectively

At our 27 March 2024 event — held in partnership with Sainsbury’s— 323 senior stakeholders attended, representing a diverse mix from retail chains and fleet operators to FTSE 350 corporations, healthcare trusts, government bodies, and regional authorities.

Why This Matters

      • The UK’s public EV charging network is expanding at record pace: as of July 2025, there are 84,218 public charge points across nearly 42,000 locations, representing a 26% growth since July 2024
      • Rapid and ultra-rapid chargers alone have surged to 16,937, a 30% increase year-over-year, with 3,121 ultra-rapid units added in just 12 months
      • In policy advances, from 29 May 2025, EV drivers and businesses no longer require planning permission to install charging points—cutting time, costs, and bureaucratic friction, and projected to save up to £1,100 annually
      • The Labour government, while scrapping a previous £950 million motorway charging fund, is instead committing £400 million to expand on-street and underserved area infrastructure over the next five years

What to Expect

Optimal Charging: Leaders or Followers is tailored for corporate EV buyers, facilities and fleet managers, property owners, and executive leaders. It’s where strategy meets action.

      • Insight-Rich Talks: Hear from landowners, property and fleet operators about delivering RIIO-ED2-compliant charging capabilities, collaborating across sectors, and scaling infrastructure
      • Fast-Paced Q&A & Case Studies: Interactive sessions bring real-world scenarios to life
      • Networking Gold: Forge valuable connections during ample 1-2-1 time throughout the day

Everything is designed to help you deploy EV charging more intelligently, efficiently, and capital-efficiently.

Why You Should Attend

      • Rapid Market Momentum: With public chargers and especially ultra-rapid capacity growing at unprecedented rates, early movers gain decisive advantages
      • Policy Tailwinds in Your Favor: Simplified planning and strategic funding are unlocking deployment potential
      • Strategic ROI Focus: Learn how to accelerate EV infrastructure with optimized spend and operational excellence

Be Part of the Innovation

We're partnering with mission-critical stakeholders shaping this market.

Global Authority Keynote

Our 2026 timetable

Agenda 2026

Our 2026 industry leaders:

Dr. Beatrix Schlarb-Ridley, Director of Innovations and Impact, British Antarctic Survey

British Antarctic Survey

Ruth Cadbury, Chair, Transport Select Committee

UK Parliament
Tim Longstaff, Partner, Roland Berger
ChargeUK

Melanie Lane, Chief Executive Officer, Pod

Surrey County Council

Isabel McAllister, Chief Sustainability and Compliance Officer, First Bus

First Bus

Vicky Edmonds, CEO, EVA England

Coventry City Council
Anthony Fernandez, CEO, Easee
Office for Zero Emission Vehicles

Vicky Read, CEO, ChargeUK

ChargeUK

James Hooton, Managing Director, Missions, Green Finance Institute

ChargeUK

Jonathan Guppy, Head of Sustainability, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Surrey County Council
Alex Gilbert, Head of Energy & Electrification, Places for London
Zest

Jason Powell, Director Fleet Services, Metropolitan Police Service

Surrey County Council

Ian Johnston, CEO, Osprey

Surrey County Council
Philippe Bazin, Head of Sustainable Energy and Green Infrastructure, Novuna Business Finance
Surrey County Council

Neil Austin, Chief Financial Officer, Westmorland Family

Surrey County Council

Dr. Julia Kowalle, Executive Director, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

SMBC

Ilyas Munshi, Corporate Development & Communications Director, EG On The Move

SMBC

Ben Cattermole, Head of Transport Decarbonisation, National Grid Electricity Distribution

NGED

Max Brandt, CEO & Co-founder, FLEXECHARGE

Zap-Map

Zeeshan Hashmi, Director, Power, Utilities & Infrastructure, RBC Capital Markets

Zap-Map

Katie Pudney, Electric Vehicle and Charging Strategy Lead, Essex County Council

Liberty Charge Ltd

Judith Hayton, Transport Strategy and Planning Manager – Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure, Transport for London

Scania

Neil Mahapatra, CEO, Zapgo

Scania

Alex Schoch, Head of Flexibility, Octopus Energy Group

Scania

Jade Edwards, Head of Insights, zapmap

Surrey County Council

Chris Richardson, Divisional Managing Director, Ambassador Group

Uber

Councillor Peter Candlish, Cabinet Member for Transport, Portsmouth City Council

First Bus

Clare Frater MAPM, Programme Manager, Strategy & Places Directorate, National Trust

First Bus

Neil Madgwick, Head of Connections Service Delivery, UK Power Networks

Zap-Map

Dr Russell Fowler, Acting Head of Connection Delivery, Strategic Charging Infrastructure, National Highways

Connected Kerb
Edward Yendluri, Contracts Manager (Operations), Environment, Climate, Public Protection – Waste and Cleansing, Westminster City Council
Connected Kerb
John Colgan, EV Hubs JV Project Manager, Asset Management, Places for London
Zest

Chris Ashley, Senior Policy Lead, RHA

Office for Zero Emission Vehicles

James Nutter, Lead Policy Manager Transport Strategy, West Yorkshire Combined Authority

Zest

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Venue

IET London: Savoy Place, 2 Savoy Place, London, WC2R 0BL

Venue

IET London: Savoy Place

2 Savoy Place

London, WC2R 0BL

General Enquiries Form

Use our General Enquiries Form for attendance, branding, sponsor, speaker, virtual speaker enquiries or if you have something interesting you would like to share online or on the day with our industry participants but can’t attend in person.