A Day Out Visiting the 2023 London EV Show

Attending industry conferences and gatherings can often be a ‘hit and miss’ affair. No amount of preparation can really tell you what an event is going to be like in terms of its relevance to you, your business and the opportunities it may offer.

At BSB Warehouse we are always looking for ways to preach about the virtues of safe lithium battery storage and a pulpit from which to do it. And so it was that we made our way to the 2023 London EV Show at the ExCel, East London.

On arriving at the centre I was struck by the extraordinary levels of investment in this area since I was last there nearly a decade ago. Vast towers of glass and steel rising into the crisp winter sky, housing thousands of businesses and the modern apartments of those that run them. The old docks and their beautiful brick warehouses that once stored traded spices, tobacco and rum, now repurposed into dry cleaners, restaurants and Fintech nerve centres. Incongruous next to the dockers’ cottages of Canning Town and Newham.

We entered the exhibition hall looking for opportunities to meet businesses for whom safe lithium battery storage is a key element of their operations, but first, to hear some presentations.  We listened to talks on the future of electrification, trading energy via apps or software and developments in battery chemistry.  In addition, a contributor from the media explaining with the enthusiasm of a TV Evangelist that we have a duty to educate the sceptical public about the virtues of EVs.

The safe storage of commercial lithium batteries is one of those problems that everybody in the EV automotive sector knows is there but few are doing much to solve. “Our warehousing supplier deals with that” or “They’re kept in a battery storage container at the back of the factory” are reprieves we often hear. EV battery storage for both manufacturing and warranty parts are fast becoming an industry ‘hot potato’. We talked to some logistics businesses at the show who want options for safe lithium battery storage, removing them from their stocks in order to de-risk their facilities, giving their underwriters a chance of a decent night’s sleep.

Exhibiting at the show were an abundance of EV charging outfits – who knew the electric customer had so many ways of charging their vehicles? Some OEMs had despatched sales teams and show cars whilst other exhibitors demonstrated their software, wiring looms and semiconductors. We all bemoaned the drop in EV sales but agreed that the future is bright and we must forge ahead to establish solid protocols for safe EV battery storage and manufacturing.