Government publishes Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy
As part of a suite of documents on EVs published today, the strategy makes a headline commitment of additional £500m of investment into “high-quality” public charging infrastructure across the UK and the expectation of around 300,000 public chargepoints as a minimum in the UK by 2030.
It comes as a recognition that despite consumer preferences indicating the majority of EV owners will charge at home overnight, a far more extensive public chargepoint infrastructure is needed to support those on long journeys and those who do not have access to off-street parking.
techUK welcomes this and through our work with the Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce (EVET) and direct engagement with Government, has made the case that a reliable network of chargepoints, supplied ahead of demand, is critical to ensuring a smooth EV transition.
Today’s key announcements to be aware of are outlined below:
Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (LEVI)
- £450m of new funding will be used to create a Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (LEVI), under which local authorities will be able to bid for funding to install charging hubs and on-street charging points
- The remaining £50m will be used to upskill and employ staff to work on public charging point planning and implementation
- Each local council will be able to bid for a share of £10m under the LEVI
- An obligation will be placed on local authorities (subject to consultation) to develop and implement local charging strategies to plan for the transition to a zero-emission vehicle fleet
Rapid Charging Fund
- Accelerate the rollout of high-powered chargers on the strategic road network through the £950m Rapid Charging Fund (this funding was established prior to the COP-26 conference last year)
- Used to unlock current barriers to deployment at some of these locations, enabling provision where the commercial case “will not add up”
- Every motorway service area to have at least six rapid chargers by the end of 2023
- 6,000 high powered chargers along our strategic roads by 2035
Addressing barriers to deployment
- End direct subsidy support for home charging and workplace charging at the earliest appropriate time
- Reduce the costs to businesses by tackling barriers to investment and delivery of public charge points (e.g. consult on measures to make Traffic Regulation Orders more straightforward)
Building consumer confidence
- Regulate to ensure chargepoints are reliable and easy to use
- Specific requirements on open data, price transparency, payment methods and reliability
- Chargepoint design standards to improve accessibility and improve signage to chargepoint locations
Smart Charging
- Ensure that the bulk of charging is ‘smart’ and ideally off-peak, and that connection costs do not avoidably deter chargepoint deployment
Supporting innovation
- Explore the ‘exciting’ opportunities presented by Vehicle to X
- Explore other models such as local community charging companies, longer-term on-street concessions, remote charging, cable guttering, lamppost chargers or peer-to-peer charging services
We are especially pleased to see a focus placed on the role of local authorities in the development of local infrastructure strategies, as well as a focus on building the skills base required to ensure an infrastructure can be deployed and maintained.
We also welcome the emphasis on the role of innovation and digital technology in delivering new and more efficient charging models.
However, techUK advocates for a holistic view of the transport system and we will continue to make the case to Government that infrastructure should also consider the electrification needs of other transport modes including rail, aviation and maritime.
In addition, we recognise that technical and administrative barriers to faster roll out still exist for our members, and that the reality of investing ahead of demand is not a commercially viable option in many cases.
As such, we will continue to work to ensure that any existing or emerging barriers are identified and removed as quickly as possible, and that the Government is able to facilitate private sector investment through a clearer understanding of commercial realities and providing targeted support where necessary.
Please get in touch with Teodora Kaneva, Head of Smart Infrastructure Systems or Ashley Feldman, Transport Programme Manager if you would like to hear more about our work around electrification and how you can get involved.
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Ashley Feldman
Ashley Feldman is the programme manager for transport and smart cities, at techUK.
Teodora Kaneva
Teodora’s rich background varies from working in business development for a renewable energy lobbying association in Brussels to the fast moving technology innovation startup scene in the UK.