Tech innovator Octopus Energy has partnered with Ohme to make electric car charging easier and cheaper with the world’s first intelligent Electric Vehicle (EV) charging cable.

What does this mean for the EV driver? Well, they could save £300 a year (in comparison to charging on a typical industry standard variable tariff) by automatically charging their car when Octopus’s green electricity is cheapest. Once the new Ohme cable is connected, the driver can just open up the app and enter the amount they would like to charge their car and by when. So, for example, you could choose to charge your car battery to 100 per cent by 7.00 am on weekdays, and Ohme will then use the Octopus Agile API to automatically deliver the right amount of electricity when it is cheapest.

The cable will cost £399, but the first 1000 Octopus Energy customers get a special launch price of £199, so in theory it will have paid for itself in less than a year. Better still the Ohme cable can be used with any EV and any existing charge socket (including a standard 3-pin socket and an inexpensive commando socket), so doesn’t require an installer visit. It can also be used on public charge points.

It manages EV drivers’ energy usage and sets charging preferences like daily commutes and weekend trips, and rather handily it also monitors users’ Green Score, calculating the C02 consumption per mile, comparing it to a diesel or petrol vehicle.

David Watson, CEO Ohme, said: “At Ohme we believe the future of transport is electric and that flexible home charging is the key to mass adoption. Ohme’s innovative smart charging cable is the first app-controlled, intelligent EV charger that combined with Octopus’ smart energy tariffs, delivers real savings and environmental benefits.

A typical UK family would have saved £210 on Agile Octopus over the last 12 months, compared to the average Big 6 variable tariff, so if you’re not already a customer see what you can save at https://octopus.energy/agile, and while you’re at it sign up for the cable at: https://octopus.energy/ohme.