Summary
Solar, battery storage and EV charging used to be planned as three separate projects, each with its own business case. That is changing quickly. Rising energy prices and slow grid connections are pushing charge point operators across Europe to design PV, BESS and chargers together as one integrated system. For CPOs planning high-power sites, the question is shifting from how many chargers to buy towards how to design the whole site around the grid, the energy and the vehicles to come.
In Episode 61 of the Charge Point Podcast, Christophe Lephilibert speaks with Christos Tsegkis, Regional Manager EV Charging for DACH, the Nordics and Southeastern Europe at Sungrow. Sungrow started in PV inverters, then expanded into battery storage and now builds EV chargers from AC up to megawatt class. Christos works with CPOs, logistics companies and investors who are combining solar, storage and charging, and he sees first-hand how large operators like E.ON Drive Infrastructure now buy BESS and charging as one solution.
The conversation covers why the combination of PV, storage and charging has become so attractive, how on-site batteries reduce dependence on DSO approvals, and who should orchestrate energy flows on a complex site. Christos explains how a field-level EMS and an intelligent external EMS work together, what changes for storage once electric trucks charge at megawatt level, and the one piece of advice he gives every CPO before investing in BESS.
What you’ll learn
- Why large CPOs now ask for combined PV, BESS and EV charging solutions from the start of a project.
- How grid connection approvals have become the common bottleneck for charging projects across Europe, and why mature markets like Germany and the Nordics feel it first.
- How a battery on site lets CPOs keep building and serve peak demand while waiting for grid expansion.
- What Sungrow’s BESS deployments with E.ON Drive Infrastructure signal about the direction of the European charging market.
- How Sungrow’s internal EMS orchestrates its own products in the field, and where an external EMS adds intelligence on dynamic tariffs, markets and the grid.
- Why Norway’s early move to dynamic tariffs shows how energy management lifts the return on a charging site.
- How the role of storage moves from peak shaving to dynamic power allocation once many trucks charge at megawatt level at the same time.
- Why Christos advises CPOs to plan for the next two to three years and design each site around its specific location.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome to the Charge Point Podcast
00:38 Intro: a little sunshine for the rainy season
02:20 Christos’s journey from solar and wind to e-mobility
04:14 From PV inverters to megawatt chargers: Sungrow’s evolution
06:15 Why PV, storage and charging is a winning combination
08:07 Grid bottlenecks: how storage reduces dependence on DSOs
12:06 Sungrow PowerStack: the typical BESS setup for charging sites
13:31 Orchestration: who decides where every kilowatt hour goes?
15:24 E.ON Drive Infrastructure and the end of standalone projects
17:52 Megawatt charging for trucks: from peak shaving to dynamic power allocation
20:39 Christos’s advice for CPOs planning their next high-power sites
22:21 Key takeaways and wrap-up
Notable quotes
“It comes down always on the DSOs. Some of the DSOs might provide more capacity on a higher pace. Some others, they are a bit slowing down the process. So this is a bottleneck for everyone.” - Christos Tsegkis, Sungrow
“If you have megawatt chargers with also 10 or 20 power stacks in one location, then we are talking about dynamic tariffs. We are talking about how we can optimise the whole ecosystem by having also an intelligent EMS in between.” - Christos Tsegkis, Sungrow
“It’s not about if I’m going to buy five chargers and five BESS, but how I will optimise the design based on a specific location.” - Christos Tsegkis, Sungrow
About the guest
Christos Tsegkis is Regional Manager EV Charging for DACH, the Nordics and Southeastern Europe at Sungrow, based at the company’s European headquarters in Munich. He began his career in solar and wind energy almost 14 years ago and has focused on electric mobility since 2019. Christos joined Sungrow three years ago as Business Development Manager for EV charging in DACH and Southeastern Europe, and now leads the company’s EV charging business across three regions, helping CPOs and fleet operators combine solar, battery storage and charging into integrated, scalable solutions.
Christos Tsegkis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christos-tsegkis-1696aa3a/
Sungrow: https://en.sungrowpower.com/
Electrive interview with Christos
Free on-demand masterclass: co-located BESS for CPOs
Co-located batteries are now part of almost every CPO conversation, but connecting and controlling them is still the first big hurdle. In our on-demand masterclass, FLEXECHARGE shows how to solve the connect challenge and unlock value stacking with peak shaving, arbitrage, flexibility revenues and DNO curtailment, with real examples from Recharge, Q8 and other CPOs.
Watch it here: https://www.flexecharge.com/resources/webinars/the-power-of-co-located-batteries-unlocking-the-full-revenue-potential
Related listening
For more on battery economics at fast-charging sites, listen to Episode 54 with Ryan Fisher of BloombergNEF, and to Episode 56 with Michel Verschuere of Yuso on why grid congestion makes co-located BESS essential for CPOs.
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