Episode notes
A co-founder of EVA England, incoming chair of the Recharge APPG in Parliament, and one of the earliest UK adopters of home solar, battery storage and electric driving — Warren Phlips received one of the very first consumer Tesla Powerwall 2 units in the country (number three, he's told, just behind a certain Robert Llewellyn) — he has spent the best part of a decade quietly pulling the EV transition in the right direction, almost entirely as a volunteer.
But this conversation goes far beyond charge points and policy. Warren talks candidly about the moment that changed everything: sitting alone in a hospital room, holding his newborn daughter while doctors fought to save his wife, and deciding then and there that his job was to make the world better rather than build a fortress around his family. Everything since — the advocacy, the lobbying, the 20-plus hours a week given freely to EVA England — flows from that decision, and from a promise his daughter.
Along the way:
- From avionics engineering and FTSE 100 software to government security work — and how none of it explains the hats
- How showing off a Renault Zoe and some solar panels at an eco open home quietly converted a neighbourhood
- The five principles Warren tests every policy against: fair, accessible, equitable, safe, accurate
- A live debate on the newly announced VAT cut on domestic electricity — good news, but is it fair to the millions who can't charge at home?
- Recognising privilege, and choosing to spend it on other people
- Lucid Destiny, his new consultancy helping companies navigate the EV transition without losing sight of the consumer at the end of it
- Why his daughter is named after Ayrton Senna
- And a Magic Wand wish that might be the best one yet: removing fear itself
Connect with Warren:LinkedIn
EVA England:evaengland.org.uk
