Deftpower and Ubitricity collaborate to reward EV drivers for charging off-peak in the Province of Utrecht and the City Almere.
Ubitricity launches grid-aware charging with cashback for charge apps: enabling drivers to reduce charging costs while easing grid congestion at 407 Shell Recharge connectors
AMSTERDAM / ARNHEM — 18 December 2025 — Deftpower has announced that Ubitricity, part of the Shell Group, has joined its Smart charging program and activated e-mobility app Smart Charging on 407 public charging connectors across The Province of Utrecht and the City Almere. With this collaboration, Ubitricity gives the driver a role in grid management at Ubitricity’s charge points and, by doing so, unlocks more flexibility from EV charging.
Unlocking flexibility in everyday public charging
Grid congestion is the biggest bottleneck of the energy transition and is causing growing waiting lists for energy infrastructure in the Netherlands. Yet, existing public chargers offer a largely untapped solution. Public AC chargers in residential areas often see vehicles connected for 10 hours or more, while only requiring 3 to 4 hours of actual charging.
In the Netherlands, Ubitricity operates a large on-street AC network catering to the 70% of Dutch households1 without access to a private driveway. Consequently, these vehicles rely on public infrastructure and remain connected for long, predictable periods—creating ideal conditions for Smart Charging and grid-friendly load management.
Ubitricity launched Smart Charging on its Adhoc service in April 2025, and through Deftpower, is now bringing a similar service to more e-mobility app users. By enabling Smart Charging on Ubitricity’s (Shell Recharge branded) network through Deftpower, this unused connection time is converted into practical grid flexibility. Charging is automatically shifted away from peak hours to moments when energy is cheaper and the grid is under less strain.
Earning cashback, while staying in control
Smart Charging is available to drivers using apps from ANWB, GreenChoice and Justplugin with more to follow soon.
To earn cashback, drivers simply share their planned departure time in their charging app or let AI predict it based on routine. In return for their flexibility, drivers receive cashback on their session costs. Crucially, drivers always remain in control: they can change their departure time at any moment or cancel Smart Charging to charge directly at full speed.
"The solution to grid congestion is often already parked on our streets, but to unlock this flexibility at scale you need the trust and participation of drivers" says Jacob van Zonneveld, CEO of Deftpower. "By enablingSmart Charging on Ubitricity's AC network, we are proving that we can ease grid congestion by incentivising drivers"
Proven approach
The activation builds on data from earlier deployments in Amsterdam2, where the same approach proved 70% of the energy demand at public AC chargers can be shifted to off-peak hours while generating an average discount of 7.5% for drivers.
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About Deftpower
Deftpower provides the white-label technology behind Europe's leading EV charging services. Its platform powers roaming, billing, and smart-charging capabilities that enable eMobility Service Providers to deliver seamless driver experiences across networks.
About Ubitricity
Ubitricity is a leading provider and operator of public EV charging. Focusing on creating user-oriented charging networks, Ubitricity offers AC lamppost, AC fast and DC rapid charging stations. The company operates more than 16,000 charging points within the Shell Recharge network across the Netherlands, the UK, Germany andFrance. Ubitricity is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Shell Group.
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Notes to editors
(1) Dutch household parking access
Data on household parking access in the Netherlands is based on research by ElaadNL, which shows that approximately 30% of Dutch households have access to private parking on their own premises. This means around 70% of households rely on public or on-street parking for EV charging.
Source: ElaadNL – Estimating EV diffusion and charging infrastructure demand per neighbourhood
(2) Smart Charging savings
The average 70% energy shifted and charging cost reduction of 7.5% refers to results reported by ANWB August 2025, based on apublic charging Smart Charging pilot in collaboration with Deftpower in the Netherlands.
Source: ANWB – Slim laden aan publieke laadpaal goedkoper en duurzamer (August 2025).
