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Fleet electrification is entering a second wave driven by falling battery costs, smarter charging strategies, and growing pressure to modernize energy use. For fleet and business leaders, the opportunity goes beyond vehicle replacement. It means rethinking charging as a scheduling challenge, building energy literacy within teams, tracking emerging battery technologies, and preparing fleets to function as grid-connected energy assets. Organizations that approach fleet electrification as a systems transformation rather than a simple equipment upgrade will be best positioned to reduce costs, improve resilience, and lead in the years ahead.
Charging is a scheduling challenge, not just an infrastructure decision. Smart timing can significantly reduce energy costs and grid strain.
Fleet managers must develop energy literacy as electrification shifts the role from mechanical oversight to energy strategy.
New battery chemistries, including sodium-ion and hybrid battery systems, could reshape cost and supply chain dynamics in the near future.
Electrified fleets can become grid assets through vehicle-to-grid capabilities, demand response, and peak management.
Charging is a scheduling challenge, not just an infrastructure decision. Smart timing can significantly reduce energy costs and grid strain.
Fleet managers must develop energy literacy as electrification shifts the role from mechanical oversight to energy strategy.
New battery chemistries, including sodium-ion and hybrid battery systems, could reshape cost and supply chain dynamics in the near future.
Electrified fleets can become grid assets through vehicle-to-grid capabilities, demand response, and peak management.
If you feel like fleet electrification has been moving in fits and starts, you’re not far off.
EV adoption surged, slowed, and now feels like it’s catching its breath. According to Dr. Sheldon Williamson, professor at Ontario Tech and a leading researcher in electrification, what we’re seeing isn’t a retreat, but rather a reset before the next rise.
Battery costs are falling. Infrastructure is maturing. Utilities are upgrading. New chemistries are emerging. The second wave of fleet electrification is forming now.
Sheldon joined The Fleet podcast with host Chris Brandt to talk about the substantial shifts transforming fleet electrification and what you should be doing today to prepare.
One of the most practical insights from the conversation is also one of the simplest. “People do make mistakes about treating charging as a parking problem instead of an energy problem,” Sheldon explains. The real constraint is when and how you draw power from the grid. For fleets, this is a mindset shift. Instead of asking:
Where do we put chargers?
How many stalls do we need?
Start asking:
When are vehicles idle?
When is the grid stressed?
When is electricity cheapest?
“Once fleets see that charging is a scheduling problem, not a hardware problem, the mindset shifts,” he said. This is especially critical as utilities introduce demand charges and time-of-use pricing. Poorly timed EV fleet charging can spike costs. Smart scheduling can turn energy into a controllable variable.
What fleet operators can do now:
Map vehicle dwell time across your fleet.
Overlay that with local utility rate structures.
Invest in smart charging software before adding more hardware.
The fleets that master charging orchestration will outperform those that simply add plugs.
Fleet electrification changes the job description. “Tomorrow’s fleet manager looks more like an energy manager than a mechanic,” Sheldon said. Managing an electric fleet is no longer just about maintenance cycles and replacement schedules. It’s about load management, demand response, grid interaction, and total cost per kilometer. Energy literacy becomes a competitive advantage. Fleet leaders who understand:
Cost per kilowatt-hour
Peak demand pricing
Grid constraints
Charging rates
Battery degradation
… will make smarter procurement, infrastructure, and policy decisions.
What fleet operators can do now:
Build internal energy fluency on your team.
Partner with utilities early.
Include energy performance metrics in fleet KPIs.
The organizations that treat energy as a strategic input, not just an expense line, will be ahead of the curve.
Lithium isn’t going away tomorrow, but it won’t be alone for long. Sheldon sees sodium-ion and potassium-ion batteries gaining traction within the next four to five years. These chemistries rely on materials that are more abundant in North America, reducing supply chain dependence and geopolitical exposure.
There are tradeoffs though. Lithium still offers higher energy density and faster charging rates, but alternative chemistries may win on cost stability and cold-weather performance.
He points to the possible emergence of hybrid battery systems, where one chemistry handles power and another handles energy.
“We worked with a company in California that tested two different battery chemistries in the same vehicle where one optimized for power and one for energy,” Sheldon explained. “The idea is essentially a hybrid battery system. The project was successful and I believe that, in time, using two different chemistries together will become a viable approach.”
What fleet operators can do now:
Avoid locking your long-term strategy into a single battery assumption.
Track OEM battery roadmaps closely.
Evaluate vehicles based on cost per kilometer, not just sticker price or range.
Battery technology is entering a competitive phase, so fleets that maintain flexibility will benefit.
Range anxiety is still a factor, particularly in regions with long travel distances and inconsistent charging corridors.
The reality is that infrastructure buildout must continue, and government policy plays a role. Building codes, commercial incentives, and public charging investment all matter.
But fleets are not passive observers.
Because of their scale, fleets can:
Anchor charging hubs.
Partner with municipalities.
Influence utility upgrades.
Create localized demand that makes infrastructure viable.
“Electrification at fleet scale can help solve the chicken-and-egg problem faster than consumer adoption alone,” Sheldon said.
What fleet operators can do now:
Engage in local infrastructure planning conversations.
Explore co-investment or public-private partnerships.
Think beyond depot charging when routes demand it.
Fleets can be catalysts for regional charging ecosystems.
Perhaps the most forward-looking idea is viewing electrified fleets through the lens of mobile energy storage. When coordinated properly, fleets can:
Support demand response
Provide peak shaving (lowering electricity consumption during peak demand periods
Enhance resilience
Participate in vehicle-to-grid programs
That reframes EVs from a cost center to a strategic energy asset.
Regulatory frameworks are still catching up. Policy will determine how fast this approach grows, but the technical capability is already emerging.
The fleets that position themselves early will be best placed to capture future value streams.
What fleet operators can do now:
Monitor vehicle-to-grid regulations in your region.
Ensure new infrastructure is Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) ready where possible.
Explore pilots with utilities or energy partners.
The opportunity is not theoretical. It is forming now.
Sheldon is clear that electrification begins with buying vehicles. But success depends on systems thinking in areas such as charging strategy, energy literacy, battery evolution, grid coordination, and policy awareness.
Electrification can transform operations. The fleets that embrace this transformation will be the ones that thrive in the second wave.
If you’re leading a fleet today, the path forward is clear:
Understand your energy profile.
Modernize your charging strategy.
Stay flexible on battery technology.
Engage with infrastructure partners.
Prepare to participate in the energy ecosystem.
The next phase of electrification will reward preparation. Now is the time to get energy literate and think bigger than the parking lot.
Connect with our team to explore how to build a charging and energy strategy that positions your fleet for what’s next.