The Charge Point Podcast

Recorded just after INTERFACE Nordics at the FLEXECHARGE HQ in Copenhagen, this special episode brings together five short interviews with leading voices from across the EV charging and energy ecosystem. 
The Nordics are often seen as the future of electrification: high EV adoption, clean power, ambitious CPOs and fast-moving innovation. But a new challenge is now emerging fast: grid constraints. 
How do we keep scaling charging when capacity is no longer something CPOs can take for granted? What role will batteries play? Are flexibility markets becoming a real opportunity? And what happens when electric trucks start putting MW-scale pressure on depots, corridors and local grids? 
In this episode, Christophe speaks with five guests who each bring a different perspective on the next phase of charging. 
 
Guests 
Daniel Bogdanoski, Energy Solutions Product Manager, OKQ8 
Wulf Schlachter, CEO & Founder of DXBe Management
Jeppe Arnsdorf Pedersen, Product Owner for Ancillary Services, Clever 
Jacob Ribergaard Vinther, Senior Business Consultant, Cerius-Radius 
Martin Moos, eMobility consultant and founder of Elevathors 
 
What you will learn 
Why the Nordic charging market is moving from deployment to optimization 
Why grid constraints are becoming a strategic challenge, even in power-rich markets 
How CPOs are starting to think about charging sites as energy assets, not just hardware locations 
Why BESS can support grid access, charging performance, peak shaving and new revenue streams 
What DSOs wish CPOs understood about connection timelines, planning and early dialogue 
What is actually monetizable today in flexibility and ancillary services — and why it is still complex 
Why heavy-duty charging is not just “bigger EV charging”, but a new operational challenge 
How depot charging, route planning, driver breaks, grid capacity and software orchestration need to work together 
Why collaboration between CPOs, DSOs, TSOs, BESS OEMs, flexibility specialists, software providers and fleet operators will define the next phase of the market 
 
Episode summary 
The core message of this episode is clear: EV charging is entering a new phase. 
The first phase was about building networks, adding chargers and creating coverage. That work continues — but it is no longer enough. As utilization grows, grid capacity tightens and heavy-duty electrification accelerates, the industry needs to think differently. 
Charging sites are becoming energy systems. Batteries, smart charging, flexibility, grid integration and software orchestration are moving from future topics to operational necessities. 
From Wulf Schlachter, we hear how the market is shifting from a start-up phase to a scale-up phase, where profitability and energy management matter more than ever. 
From Daniel Bogdanoski, we get the CPO perspective: batteries and smart energy solutions are not only about grid constraints. They are also about delivering the charging experience customers expect. 
From Jacob Ribergaard Vinther, we hear the DSO reality: the issue is not willingness to connect new customers, but time, capacity and planning. Early dialogue matters. 
From Jeppe Arnsdorf Pedersen, we dive into ancillary services and flexibility: the opportunity is real, but it requires scale, strong IT systems, regulation awareness and careful protection of the customer experience. 
And from Martin Moos, we look at heavy-duty charging, where electrification brings a much deeper layer of complexity: depots, routes, schedules, driver breaks, grid capacity, software and energy cost all need to be coordinated. 

Key themes 
Grid constraints and the Nordic Grid Paradox 
Batteries in EV charging infrastructure 
Flexibility markets and ancillary services 
From CPOs to energy operators 
DSO-CPO collaboration 
Heavy-duty and depot charging 
Customer experience and charging reliability 
Software orchestration and energy optimization 

Future perspective 
The Nordics are still ahead in electrification. But being ahead also means meeting the constraints first. 
That is what makes this region so interesting. The solutions now being tested in Denmark, Sweden and Norway — batteries, flexible grid connections, VPPs, depot orchestration and closer DSO-CPO collaboration — may become part of the blueprint for the rest of Europe. 
As charging power increases and electric trucks scale, the winners will not only be the companies that deploy the most hardware. They will be the ones that can orchestrate energy, grid capacity, customer experience and market value in real time. 

Learn more 
To go deeper into INTERFACE, read more about the event, watch the video interviews, and get access to the recorded keynotes - go here 
Watch the webinar: “The Power of Co-Located Batteries — Unlocking the Full Revenue Potential” - link here 
Got some feedback or questions? Text us!
You can get more information on our website.

Give us some stars please
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Get in Touch:
Do you have suggestions for future guests or topics? Reach out to us at [email protected]. 
Subscribe & Stay Updated:
🔔 Make sure to subscribe to the Charge Point Podcast to stay updated on the latest trends and developments in the world of EV charging and energy.
📩 You can subscribe to our Newsletter, The Charge Point Journal, by clicking here.
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 And you can follow us on Linkedin by clicking here and connect with Christophe here.
⚡ Let’s keep the conversation—and the electrons—flowing.

Episode summary 
Fast charging is entering a new phase. For many CPOs, the challenge is no longer simply installing chargers — it is securing enough grid capacity, keeping rollout speed high, and delivering a reliable charging experience even when the grid is constrained. 
In this episode of the Charge Point Podcast, Christophe speaks with Geert de Mil from Q8 Electric and Joost de Meester from Intercel about why co-located battery energy storage systems are becoming a structural part of fast-charging infrastructure. 
Q8 Electric is scaling towards 500 high-power charging locations across the Benelux, and as Geert explains, the traditional model of “connect chargers to the grid and go” no longer works at scale. Grid connection lead times, limited capacity, and commercially attractive locations without sufficient power are forcing CPOs to rethink site architecture. 
Together with Joost, we explore why batteries are no longer just a nice-to-have, but a critical enabler for fast charging: helping sites reduce dependence on large grid connections, buffer peak demand, improve reliability, and prepare for future use cases such as arbitrage and flexibility markets. 
The conversation also goes beyond the business case. We discuss the technical complexity of integrating chargers, batteries, smart meters, grid constraints, and an energy management system in real time — and why the real value of BESS comes from making the whole system work together without compromising the driver experience. 

What you will learn 
In this episode, you will learn: 
Why grid constraints are becoming one of the biggest barriers to fast-charging rollout. 
How Q8 Electric is using co-located batteries to support its expansion across the Benelux. 
Why batteries are shifting from “nice-to-have” to structural infrastructure for CPOs. 
How BESS can help reduce the size of required grid connections while maintaining charging performance. 
Why power boosting is often the first and most important use case for battery-backed charging. 
How peak shaving, dynamic load management, arbitrage, and future ancillary services fit into the value stack. 
Why the integration challenge is not the battery itself, but the orchestration between the car, charger, battery, grid, and energy management system. 
What can go wrong if response times, restart logic, and control signals are not properly managed. 
How Q8 Electric thinks about customer experience, uptime, predictability, and ROI. 
Why truck charging and megawatt charging will make batteries even more relevant in the coming years. 
How future fast-charging sites may evolve into intelligent energy hubs. 

Key topics discussed 
From fuel sites to energy hubs 
Geert explains how Q8 Electric emerged as part of Q8’s broader mobility transition, and why fast charging now requires a much more sophisticated site architecture than simply installing chargers. 
The grid as the breaking point 
As Q8 Electric scales towards hundreds of HPC locations, grid availability has become a key constraint. The best commercial locations are not always the locations with enough power, which makes batteries essential to unlock rollout opportunities. 
Why BESS is becoming structural 
For Q8 Electric, batteries are no longer optional. They help deliver predictable, reliable, fast charging while reducing stress on the grid and making the operator a more responsible grid user. 
The Intercel perspective 
Joost shares how Intercel sees the market evolving, why battery demand around EV charging is accelerating, and how European assembly, service, and integration capabilities matter in complex infrastructure projects. 
The real integration challenge 
The episode highlights why EV charging is more demanding than many other BESS use cases. A charging session can stop suddenly, power flows change instantly, and the system must react in milliseconds to keep the site stable. 
Sizing and business case 
Geert explains how Q8 Electric learned to size batteries together with Intercel, using simulations to balance battery capacity, charger demand, grid limits, and future expansion needs. 
Value stacking - but with priorities 
The discussion covers power boosting, peak shaving, dynamic load management, arbitrage, and future flexibility markets. But the priority is clear: customer experience comes first. The battery must support fast charging, not interfere with it. 
The future of battery-backed charging 
The guests look ahead to more battery-backed HPC sites, truck charging, megawatt charging, and public energy hubs where grid investment, charging infrastructure, and storage are planned more strategically. 
 
Featured guests 
Geert de Mil, Q8 Electric 
Geert leads charging technology, systems, and insights at Q8 Electric, focusing on everything behind the charger: site architecture, hardware, digital systems, monitoring, energy management, and the infrastructure needed to make fast charging reliable at scale. 
Joost de Meester, Intercel 
Joost is commercially responsible for part of Intercel’s business. With a background in sales, business development, and previous experience at Tesla working on charging infrastructure, he now focuses on helping customers deploy battery systems for the energy transition. 
 
Memorable insight 
“The future of fast charging will not only be about adding more chargers. It will be about building smarter sites — where chargers, batteries, grid connections, and energy management systems work together as one integrated energy system.” 

Recommended resources 
Watch the webinar: “The Power of Co-Located Batteries — Unlocking the Full Revenue Potential” - link here 
Interested in the solution side of the story? Listen to Episode 43 of the podcast where Christophe discusses with Topias Koskela from Enico, a leading BESS OEM from Finland - link here 
Keywords 
EV charging, fast charging, high-power charging, HPC, BESS, battery energy storage, co-located batteries, Q8 Electric, Intercel, energy management system, grid constraints, peak shaving, power boosting, EV charging infrastructure, charge point operators, CPO, truck charging, megawatt charging, flexibility markets, energy hubs. 
Got some feedback or questions? Text us!
You can get more information on our website.

Give us some stars please
🌟 If you enjoyed the episode, please give it a 5-stars note and leave us a review.

Get in Touch:
Do you have suggestions for future guests or topics? Reach out to us at [email protected]. 
Subscribe & Stay Updated:
🔔 Make sure to subscribe to the Charge Point Podcast to stay updated on the latest trends and developments in the world of EV charging and energy.
📩 You can subscribe to our Newsletter, The Charge Point Journal, by clicking here.
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 And you can follow us on Linkedin by clicking here and connect with Christophe here.
⚡ Let’s keep the conversation—and the electrons—flowing.

Summary
In this episode of the Charge Point Podcast, Christophe sits down with Maarten Staats from Enexis and GridCapacityMaps.eu to unpack one of the most pressing challenges facing EV charging infrastructure today: grid congestion.
As EV adoption accelerates across Europe, more Charge Point Operators are encountering limited grid capacity, delayed connection approvals, and uncertainty around available power for new charging sites.
Maarten explains how congestion actually works in practice, why the Netherlands is experiencing these issues so early, and what this means for the future deployment of EV charging infrastructure.

Which topics do we explore?
🔌 What grid congestion actually means
⚡ The difference between grid congestion and transport scarcity
🗺️ How DSOs calculate and allocate grid capacity
🇳🇱 Why the Netherlands has become an early stress test for electrification
🚧 Why grid reinforcement projects take so much time
📈 How increasing electrification impacts grid planning
🔋 The role of flexible capacity agreements and smarter grid usage
🏗️ What CPOs should understand before planning new charging sites

About the guest
Maarten Staats works at Enexis, one of the leading Dutch Distribution System Operators (DSOs), and is also the creator of GridCapacityMaps, a platform helping visualize grid capacity constraints across regions.

Resources & Links
🌍 Grid Capacity Maps
https://www.gridcapacitymaps.eu
🔗 Maarten Staats on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maartenstaats/

Continue Listening
👉 Interested in the solution side of the story?
Listen to Episode 47, where we explore batteries, smart energy management, and flexibility solutions for grid-constrained charging sites in the Benelux.
Got some feedback or questions? Text us!
You can get more information on our website.

Give us some stars please
🌟 If you enjoyed the episode, please give it a 5-stars note and leave us a review.

Get in Touch:
Do you have suggestions for future guests or topics? Reach out to us at [email protected]. 
Subscribe & Stay Updated:
🔔 Make sure to subscribe to the Charge Point Podcast to stay updated on the latest trends and developments in the world of EV charging and energy.
📩 You can subscribe to our Newsletter, The Charge Point Journal, by clicking here.
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 And you can follow us on Linkedin by clicking here and connect with Christophe here.
⚡ Let’s keep the conversation—and the electrons—flowing.

🎙️ Episode Overview 
In this episode, we dive into one of the most strategic topics for the future of EV charging: flexibility - and the role of BSPs (Balancing Service Providers). 
As renewable energy penetration increases, the grid is becoming more volatile - and the ability to adapt consumption in real time is turning into a critical asset. 
Together with Jeff Knoepfli, CEO & Founder of Survoltage, we explore how flexibility markets work, how energy assets can be orchestrated, and what it means concretely for charge point operators - across both commercial and residential contexts. 
 
⚡ What You’ll Learn 
What a Balancing Service Provider actually does 
How flexibility markets work - from a practical, operator perspective 
Why EV charging infrastructure is becoming a key flexibility asset 
The role of aggregation, smart control, and real-time optimisation 
How CPOs can start unlocking new revenue streams from their assets 
How flexibility also applies to B2C use cases, including smart homes and residential energy management 
The growing convergence between B2C, B2B, and EV charging flexibility 
 
🔍 Key Takeaways for CPOs 
Flexibility is moving from “nice-to-have” to a core component of the EV charging business model 
Your charging infrastructure can become a revenue-generating asset, not just a cost center 
You don’t need to go all-in immediately — start with pilots and scale 
Batteries + smart energy management + BSP integration = value stacking opportunity 
The market is evolving fast — early movers will capture the most value 
 
🔗 Related Episode 
If you want to go deeper into how flexibility is already deployed at scale in the Nordics, listen to: 
👉 Episode 37 – with My Näslund (Flower) 
 
👤 About the Guest 
Jeff Knoepfli is the CEO & Founder of Survoltage, a French company building digital infrastructure to connect, control, and optimise distributed energy assets across residential (B2C) and commercial (B2B) environments. 
Their mission: turn energy consumption into a flexible, controllable resource that supports the grid and unlocks new value streams. 
 
🌐 Learn More 
Survoltage: https://www.survoltage.fr/ 
FLEXECHARGE's collaboration with BSPs: https://www.flexecharge.com/partnerships/software
Got some feedback or questions? Text us!
You can get more information on our website.

Give us some stars please
🌟 If you enjoyed the episode, please give it a 5-stars note and leave us a review.

Get in Touch:
Do you have suggestions for future guests or topics? Reach out to us at [email protected]. 
Subscribe & Stay Updated:
🔔 Make sure to subscribe to the Charge Point Podcast to stay updated on the latest trends and developments in the world of EV charging and energy.
📩 You can subscribe to our Newsletter, The Charge Point Journal, by clicking here.
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 And you can follow us on Linkedin by clicking here and connect with Christophe here.
⚡ Let’s keep the conversation—and the electrons—flowing.

⚡ Episode Overview
What happens when EV charging growth collides with grid reality?
In this special episode of the Charge Point Podcast, we take you inside INTERFACE Benelux - a live event where industry leaders gathered to tackle one of the biggest challenges in electrification today: grid constraints.
Through a series of short interviews recorded on-site, you’ll hear how key players across EV charging, battery storage, and energy markets are adapting — and what it really takes to keep scaling in a grid-constrained world.
You'll hear interviews with Robert (FLEXECHARGE), Tessa (Intercel), Mike (Kwetta), Peter (Floading) and Jan (FLEXECHARGE).

🎧 What You’ll Learn
 Why the grid - not the charger - is now the main bottleneck
 How BESS (battery storage) is becoming essential to unlock new charging capacity 
 What “energy orchestration” really means for modern charging sites 
 Where the real value lies in flexibility markets today
 Why EV charging sites are evolving into full energy systems

🧠 Key Takeaways
 EV charging has entered a new phase: from deployment → to energy optimisation
Grid constraints are structural, not temporary 
BESS + EMS + smart orchestration are becoming the new standard 
 Flexibility is no longer theoretical - it’s a real business lever
 The industry is still early - and learning in real time

🚀 Why This Matters
As EV adoption accelerates, the ability to work with the grid - not against it - will define the winners in this space.
This episode gives you a front-row seat to how leading players are already making that shift.

🔗 Links & resources 
More info about the INTERFACE conference series: https://www.flexecharge.com/event-interface-ev-charging-meet-the-grid-in-person
On-Demand Webinar: https://www.flexecharge.com/resources/webinars/the-power-of-co-located-batteries-unlocking-the-full-revenue-potential 
Got some feedback or questions? Text us!
You can get more information on our website.

Give us some stars please
🌟 If you enjoyed the episode, please give it a 5-stars note and leave us a review.

Get in Touch:
Do you have suggestions for future guests or topics? Reach out to us at [email protected]. 
Subscribe & Stay Updated:
🔔 Make sure to subscribe to the Charge Point Podcast to stay updated on the latest trends and developments in the world of EV charging and energy.
📩 You can subscribe to our Newsletter, The Charge Point Journal, by clicking here.
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 And you can follow us on Linkedin by clicking here and connect with Christophe here.
⚡ Let’s keep the conversation—and the electrons—flowing.