The Charge Point Podcast

Recorded live on the showfloor at Power2Drive Europe 2026 in Munich, this special episode of The Charge Point Podcast captures the technologies, business models, and conversations shaping the next phase of EV charging.
Across seven short interviews with experts from Polarium, ADS-TEC Energy, Sungrow, FLEXECHARGE, KEBA, and Lumina, one message comes through clearly: EV charging is moving beyond rapid infrastructure rollout. The next phase is about smarter operations, better use of constrained grid connections, battery-backed business models, depot and truck charging, energy market integration, and more intelligent software.
From distributed battery storage and battery-buffered charging to FLEXBOX, C&I storage, cable theft prevention, local energy management, VPPs, AI agents, and ecosystem collaboration, this episode offers a snapshot of where the EV charging industry is heading next.
Episode summary
Power2Drive 2026 showed an industry entering a more mature phase.
For years, the central question was how fast charging networks could be deployed. Today, the conversation is shifting. CPOs, hardware providers, battery companies, EMS platforms, and software players are increasingly focused on profitability, resilience, operational intelligence, and making the most of the grid connections already available.
In this showfloor episode, Christophe speaks with seven guests to understand what stood out at Power2Drive 2026. The conversations highlight three major themes: grid constraints as a defining design challenge, battery energy storage as a strategic commercial asset, and the growing convergence between EV charging, solar, storage, grid services, software, and AI.
The result is a practical, on-the-ground view of the next charging playbook: optimise sites, orchestrate assets, unlock new value streams, and collaborate across the energy ecosystem.
What you will learn
Why grid constraints are now shaping how charging sites are designed, deployed, and operated.
How battery energy storage can help CPOs avoid or delay grid upgrades, increase charging capacity, reduce peak demand costs, and unlock additional revenue streams.
Why BESS is moving from a “nice to have” to a strategic lever for site profitability, especially in depot and truck charging.
How battery-buffered charging can help operators deploy high-power charging on limited grid connections.
Why C&I storage, PV integration, and energy market participation are becoming increasingly relevant for EV charging operators.
How local energy management can coordinate chargers, batteries, solar PV, and grid constraints in real time.
Why depot and truck charging were among the hot topics at Power2Drive 2026.
How charger reliability, service, and cable theft prevention are becoming critical issues for logistics and public charging operators.
Why AI is moving from a broad buzzword to practical agents that can help operations teams manage EV chargers and energy assets.
Why the future of EV charging will depend on stronger collaboration between hardware, software, batteries, solar, grid services, and energy management providers.
Guests featured in this episode
Håkan Tezcanli, Polarium
Håkan shares the battery and distributed energy storage perspective. He explains why batteries have become central to solving grid and energy challenges, how distributed BESS can support EV charging, and how aggregated battery sites can contribute to VPP models and new revenue opportunities.
Sascha Koenig, ADS-TEC Energy
Sascha discusses battery-buffered charging and how it can help operators deploy on low-voltage or constrained grid connections. He also explains why truck and depot charging are becoming major growth areas, and why batteries are increasingly essential when the power and energy requirements of fleets increase.
Miguel Lojan Jaramillo, Sungrow
Miguel brings the C&I storage and solar perspective. He talks about weak grid connections, electricity prices, peak charges, PV integration, PowerStack, technical support, after-sales service, and the growing role of ecosystem partnerships when customers want to connect EV chargers, PV, ESS, and energy market opportunities.
Kasper Daugaard, FLEXECHARGE
Kasper reflects on the shift from charger deployment and land-grabbing to energy optimisation and site profitability. He introduces FLEXBOX as a local energy controller that balances chargers, batteries, solar, and the grid in real time, while helping operators maximise charging capacity without exceeding grid limits.
Torsten Freytag, KEBA
Torsten takes the conversation into transport and logistics. He explains why reliability and service are critical for depot charging, why partner ecosystems matter in early-stage depot electrification, and how KEBA is approaching AI-supported cable theft prevention. He also discusses high-power DC charging and liquid-cooled cables for trucks.
Mikkel Weikop & Andreas Sønderbo Patscheider, Lumina
Mikkel and Andreas discuss how the AI conversation is moving from general hype to practical agents. They explain how operations teams could build and deploy AI agents to operate EV chargers and energy assets, and why e-mobility, solar, storage, software, and adjacent energy sectors are becoming increasingly intertwined.
Key themes from Power2Drive 2026
1. Grid constraints are becoming the central design challenge
Charging operators are no longer only asking how many chargers they can deploy. They are asking how to maximise the value of the grid connection they already have. This changes everything: site design, hardware choices, energy management, battery strategy, and long-term business models.
2. Batteries are becoming commercial assets, not just technical fixes
BESS can help solve grid constraints, but the bigger story is value stacking. Batteries can support charging capacity, peak shaving, load shifting, PV optimisation, arbitrage, flexibility services, and VPP participation. For CPOs, the battery is increasingly becoming part of the business model.
3. The industry is becoming one connected operating system
EV charging, solar, batteries, grid services, local controllers, EMS platforms, AI, and depot operations can no longer be treated as separate industries. The most interesting solutions are emerging at the intersections — and that makes partnerships more important than ever.
Key takeaway
Power2Drive 2026 revealed an industry moving from rollout to optimisation.
The next winners in EV charging will not only be the companies that build fast. They will be the ones that operate smart: making better use of constrained grid connections, integrating batteries and flexibility markets, coordinating assets in real time, improving operational resilience, and building stronger partnerships across the energy ecosystem.
Listen to this episode if you are interested in
EV charging, CPO strategy, Power2Drive, grid constraints, battery energy storage, BESS value stacking, depot charging, truck charging, public fast charging, local energy management, flexibility markets, VPPs, C&I storage, PV integration, cable theft prevention, AI agents, energy orchestration, and the future of profitable EV charging operations.
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 hello@flexecharge.com. 
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.

EV charging is no longer only about selling kilowatt-hours. As grid capacity becomes tighter, electricity prices more volatile, and flexibility markets more mature, Charge Point Operators have a new strategic question to answer: can charging infrastructure become a flexible energy asset? 
In this episode of the Charge Point Podcast, Christophe speaks with Lars Herre, Flexibility Portfolio Lead at Fortum, about demand response, flexibility, V2G, batteries, and the role CPOs can play in the future energy system. 
Lars brings a rare combination of technical depth and market perspective. His background spans electrical engineering, power systems research, energy market modelling, and venture-building around aggregation and EV flexibility. In the conversation, he explains how demand response can help customers electrify while preventing the grid from running into limits — and why CPOs should start preparing now, even if the business case does not always feel urgent today. 
Together, we explore what it means to move beyond kilowatt-hours. For CPOs, flexibility can become a way to reduce energy costs, manage peak loads, delay or avoid grid upgrades, integrate batteries and local renewables, and eventually participate in flexibility markets or Virtual Power Plants. But this is not just a technology story. It is also about regulation, forecasting, standardisation, customer experience, and knowing how much flexibility can be activated without disappointing drivers. 
Lars also shares his view on what has changed in recent years: greater awareness of electricity price volatility, the rise of flexibility players, the growing relevance of dynamic tariffs, regulation that is ambitious but often slow in implementation, and the fact that V2G is increasingly moving from vision to real-world partnerships. 
What you will learn 
In this episode, you will learn: 
Why demand response is becoming increasingly relevant for CPOs  
How a charging site can become a flexible energy asset  
Why selling kilowatt-hours may not be enough as the market matures  
How flexibility can help manage grid constraints and peak demand  
Why driver experience must remain the first priority  
What role batteries, V2G and Virtual Power Plants could play in CPO profitability  
Why pilots should be designed with scale, standardisation and automation in mind  
How CPOs can prepare today for a more grid-interactive future  
Key topics discussed 
Demand response and EV charging  
Flexibility as a new value pool for CPOs  
Grid constraints and electrification  
Dynamic tariffs and energy price volatility  
Battery Energy Storage Systems at charging sites  
Vehicle-to-Grid and bidirectional charging  
Virtual Power Plants and aggregation  
Flexibility markets and reserve markets  
The balance between monetisation and driver experience  
Regulation, market access and implementation barriers  
What CPOs need to future-proof their charging portfolios  
Guest 
Lars Herre, Flexibility Portfolio Lead at Fortum, formerly part of the Hiven.energy team, a Fortum venture. 
Lars works at the intersection of electrification, power systems and flexibility. His mission is to help customers electrify while avoiding unnecessary pressure on the grid - turning uncontrollable loads into flexible assets that can create value for customers and support the wider energy system. Connect with him now: linkedin.com/in/larsherre/
Why this episode matters for CPOs 
For many CPOs, profitability is still closely tied to utilisation, location, pricing and operational efficiency. But the next layer of value may come from how intelligently charging assets interact with the grid. 
Flexibility will not replace the core business of charging drivers, but it can strengthen it. It can help CPOs reduce costs, improve site resilience, make better use of limited grid capacity, and open new revenue opportunities. The key message from this episode is clear: CPOs do not need to capture every flexibility revenue stream tomorrow — but they do need to build the capability today. 
The future CPO will not only operate chargers. It will operate intelligent, flexible, grid-interactive assets. 
Listen now 
Tune in to Episode 52 of the Charge Point Podcast to understand why flexibility could become one of the most important value pools for the next generation of CPOs. 
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 hello@flexecharge.com. 
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.

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
🌟 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 hello@flexecharge.com. 
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 hello@flexecharge.com. 
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 hello@flexecharge.com. 
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.