Episode 54 - How Cheap Batteries Are Changing EV Charging Infrastructure - with Ryan Fisher, BloombergNEF

Cheap Batteries, Smarter Charging

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Fast-charging infrastructure is entering a new phase. For years, the industry focused on charger deployment, site selection, uptime and utilization. Those still matter, but the next bottleneck is increasingly about energy: how much grid capacity is available, how much it costs, and whether charging sites can deliver the power that EV drivers and fleets expect.
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This matters now because battery prices are falling while grid pressure is increasing. More EVs, higher charging speeds, truck charging, megawatt charging and rising peak-demand charges are all changing the business case for Charge Point Operators. Co-located BESS is becoming a practical way to reduce grid costs, unlock constrained sites and improve the economics of EV charging infrastructure.
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In this episode of the FLEXECHARGE Podcast, Christophe Lephilibert speaks with Ryan Fisher, Head of Charging Infrastructure at BloombergNEF. Ryan shares insights from BloombergNEF’s research on how cheap batteries are helping EV charging scale, including what the team learned from hundreds of real-world battery-backed charging projects.
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Readers and listeners will learn why co-located battery storage is moving from pilots to strategic infrastructure, how CPOs should think about grid fees and battery economics, and why future charging networks may need to operate more like distributed energy assets than simple charging locations.

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What You Will Learn in This Episode

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This episode gives CPOs, fleet operators and energy infrastructure teams a practical view of where co-located BESS fits into the future charging business case.
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• How cheap batteries can make grid-constrained charging sites commercially viable
• Why peak-demand charges and grid fees are becoming central to fast-charging economics
• What makes co-located BESS especially relevant for truck charging and megawatt charging
• How battery storage can help CPOs avoid or delay expensive grid upgrades
• When energy arbitrage and flexibility markets can strengthen the BESS business case
• Why future charging sites may need to combine location strategy with intelligent energy management