Sam Clarke, Commercial Lead at GRIDSERVE and a pioneer in the UK’s EV transition, joined Ambreen Mir for a powerful conversation exploring the evolution of electric mobility, from grassroots innovation to national infrastructure. With over two decades as an EV owner and founder of Gnewt—the UK’s first fully electric last-mile logistics fleet—Sam reflected on the dramatic shift in public perception since 2002, as well as the ongoing challenges around public charging and grid capacity. Drawing from his leadership of the £100M+ Electric Freightway Project, he shed light on policy and infrastructure hurdles affecting eHGV deployment, while championing smarter, data-driven fleet transitions. A three-time Guinness World Record holder and Co-Founder of The EV Café, Sam also discussed how community-driven platforms are accelerating education and adoption. As we approach the 5th edition of the London EV Show, his vision underscores the need for collaboration, policy clarity, and long-term industry resilience in shaping a truly zero-emission future.

Ambreen: With over two decades as an EV owner and your record-breaking feats, how do you see consumer perceptions of electric vehicles evolving compared to when you first began your journey in 2002? 

Sam Clarke: It certainly was a different landscape in those days. I still recall charging my electric EV on 1 of 2 Public charge points in central London in 2002. Compare that to the 21,000 charge points that exist in the Capital today that alone tells a story as to how the charging landscape has evolved. So I think the common phraseology of ‘charge anxiety’ and ‘range anxiety’ are diminishing in prevalence as EVs become more mainstream and people understand the fundamentals of the technology better. There has always been a fierce comparison with ICE and EV which I subscribe to less and less. They are similar but fundamentally different and it’s important to recognise this distinction. ICE vehicles can (currently) refuel far quicker than an EV can charge, an yet I spend 99% of my charge time fast asleep. Unlike ICE, I charge cheaply from home on a smart renewable tariff. But not everyone can do this so high powered affordable Public charging remains the major concern for me in the EV transition. But when we accept the two drivetrains have their pros and cons, the indisputable pro is that a world of emission-free travel is just better for us all.

Ambreen:  Your work with GRIDSERVE and leadership on the £100M+ Electric Freightway Project is reshaping HGV electrification in the UK. What are the biggest infrastructure or policy hurdles still facing widescale eHGV adoption?

Sam Clarke: I have had the privilege of being part of this project since inception. Like with any innovative, disruptive technology, the path is never a straightforward one. But we have made incredible strides over the last 18 months with the support of Innovate UK and Department for Transport to be a catalyst for change in this particular sector. Whilst we have more than exceeded the number of eHGVs ordered as part of the project, the complexity around big infrastructure builds and the planning constraints and grid constraints associated with it, much like the passenger car world, remains challenging to overcome in what is a relatively tight time frame of a government funded project. I think the biggest infrastructure challenge is not necessarily one that is associated with electric vehicles or the associated infrastructure per se, but more around the physicality and sheer size of the vehicles and the lack of space available for heavy goods vehicles of all propulsion types when in transit generally. 

Ambreen: As a founder of Gnewt and a pioneer in last-mile zero-emission logistics, what lessons from building the UK’s largest fully electric commercial fleet still guide your work today? 

Sam Clarke: That chapter of my life is one that I am very proud of and certainly the learnings from the EV transition remains as relevant today as it did back in 2009. We did some really innovative and creative design methodology in the way that we charged vehicles back then. Whilst not particularly advanced, smart charging, scheduling and vehicle-to-grid all became key components of our ability to charge far more vehicles than charge points available at any given time. So I think the biggest lesson I learned was working smarter not harder. We jumped into the EV transition with both feet with a fully electric fleet from day one, however for many this will be a transition and so the key thing for me when advising fleets looking to make a transition is to ensure that they target the lowest hanging fruit, maximise the data that they have to better understand their fleet movements and be creative in the in the way in which they evolve to begin to facilitate zero emission vehicles. The learnings and outputs that creates will be invaluable; there will undoubtedly be savings to be made in general operating expenditure and perhaps more importantly will be a requirement for future growth and retention of your existing client base. It is seldom simply a like for like swap with an ICE vehicle.

Ambreen: The EV Café has become a staple platform for education and collaboration in the industry. How do you see its role evolving in driving public and corporate EV adoption in the next few years?

Sam Clarke: The EV Cafe has been quite the phenomenon over the last few years! We set this up during lockdown simply as an avenue by which to share knowledge with other like-minded individuals who were somewhat captivated by virtue of a global pandemic keeping them indoors! But its evolution has been stratospheric. It's now proudly sponsored by some of the largest companies in their respective marketplaces and we post regular content online, weekly news, monthly webinars and attend many industry shows throughout the year including of course the London EV show. The face-to-face engagement that we get at events like the London EV show and the fact that The EV Cafe has become the go to place to network, collaborate and meet like-minded individuals at events such as this is testament to its position in the industry.

Ambreen: As we approach the 5th edition of the London EV Show, what key developments or industry trends do you expect to take center stage this year, particularly in shaping the future of electric mobility in the UK? 

Sam Clarke: We hear many phrases in the EV industry like ‘hockey stick curves’ or ‘tipping points’ to describe a point in time in regard to the EV transition and I think it's quite difficult for anyone to predict to what level and at what trajectory the market is going to accelerate. For me, I think it's fair to assume that we have now bridged the gap between the early adopters and the early mainstream. We've seen a huge growth in this emerging sector over the last few years which is created a high level of competitiveness but with undeniably turbulent economic landscapes there will be winners and losers as a result of the next phase of EV evolution. As a collective industry however, I think it's important that we retain a collaborative approach and I would like to see policy directives and government initiatives take centre stage as we need support as an industry to ensure that the early mainstream EV users thrive and in order to do this, clear, substantive and robust legislation is key to boost market confidence.