Ohme, the UK’s largest home EV charging company, has marked a major milestone by rewarding drivers more than £750,000 as part of the recently concluded Crowdflex energy trials, the results of which have just been published.
Crowdflex, running from May 2024 to September 2025, was the UK’s largest home energy flexibility trial, exploring how households can help balance the electricity grid by adjusting when energy is used. By incentivising EV owners to plug in whenever their vehicle was parked at home, the trial demonstrated how domestic charging behaviour can be harnessed to support the wider electricity system.
“By plugging in more frequently and for longer periods, our customers gave Ohme the ability to intelligently manage charging and unlock value for everyone,” said David Watson, CEO of Ohme. “The trials show that effective engagement can change driver habits, and that companies like Ohme can play a crucial role in domestic flexibility—helping to save consumers more than £470 million per year in energy costs by 2036.”
During the 13-month trial, Ohme participated in more than 400 flexibility events, adjusting charger output based on grid demand. At peak, the programme involved 20,000 customers—more than any UK home EV charging company has ever achieved in a flexibility trial—flexing nearly 150MW of electricity. Compared with a control group, plug-in rates rose by 40%, proving that real-world engagement can significantly influence charging patterns.
The system benefits go beyond convenience. Optimised charging enables the grid to better handle peak demand and take full advantage of renewable energy, reducing costs and cutting carbon emissions.
Marzia Zafar, Deputy Director of Governance for Data and Digitalisation at Ofgem, highlighted the broader significance of Crowdflex: “This is more than a trial—it’s a blueprint for the future of domestic flexibility. By developing data-driven models that show how households can reliably support the grid, we’re laying the foundation for a smarter, more decentralised energy system. This work is critical to delivering the ambitions of Clean Power by 2030 and ensuring consumers remain at the heart of the energy transition.”
Crowdflex received funding through Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund in partnership with Innovate UK, and was delivered by a consortium including Ohme, OVO, Centre for Net Zero, ERM, AWS, National Grid Electricity Distribution, and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.
Ohme is the official charger provider for Mercedes-Benz, Suzuki, Volvo Cars, and the Volkswagen Group in the UK and Ireland, as well as Genesis, Hyundai, Smart, and XPeng in the UK. It is also the exclusive charger provider for the Motability scheme, the largest fleet operator in the country.
The Crowdflex trial demonstrates the potential of domestic EV charging to create value for drivers, the grid, and the planet. As David Watson notes, “To move this knowledge from trial to reality, we need greater coordination across Government and the energy industry to deliver more rewards for customers and the full system value that home EV chargers can offer.”
