Government announces plan for 300,000 public EV charge points by 2030
Thu, 31 Mar 2022
- Public charging points for electric cars to increase tenfold to 300,000 by 2030
- Drivers will be able to make contactless payments, compare charging prices and find nearby charge points via apps
- Government has set 99 per cent reliability rate at rapid charge points
The Government has announced plans to spend £1.6 billion to increase public electric vehicle (EV) charge points tenfold to 300,000 by 2030.
It said that under its Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy charging will become "easier and cheaper than refuelling a petrol or diesel car", while new legal requirements on operators will mean drivers of EVs are able to pay by contactless, compare charging prices and find nearby charge points via apps.
The Government is mandating that operators provide real-time data about charge points and has set a 99 per cent reliability rate at rapid charge points to "give consumers confidence in finding charge points that work wherever they travel".
The strategy comes ahead of the Government's ban on sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030 and hybrids by 2035.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: "No matter where you live – be that a city centre or rural village, the north, south, east or west of the country – we’re powering up the switch to electric and ensuring no one gets left behind in the process.
"The scale of the climate challenge ahead of us all is well known and decarbonising transport is at the very heart of our agenda.
"That’s why we’re ensuring the country is EV-fit for future generations by the end of this decade, revolutionising our charging network and putting the consumer first."
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) welcomed the Government's plans.
"Binding targets must be set for infrastructure provision." Mike Hawes, SMMT
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "Government has rightly recognised that Britain’s electric mobility revolution must put the needs of the consumer at the heart of the transition.
"Consumers already have certainty about the vehicles, with ever-increasing choice, thanks to billions of pounds of manufacturer investment, but charging infrastructure must keep pace with the rapid growth of sales of these cars.
"The EV infrastructure strategy points in the right direction, addressing problems with the current customer charging experience and setting out a nationally co-ordinated, locally delivered plan which aims to ‘build ahead of need’. The UK already has an enviable and ever-growing rapid charging network, so focus must be given to expanding public on-street and destination charging provision."
However, he added that "binding targets must be set for infrastructure provision".
BP Pulse to triple its public charging points
The Government wants the private sector to play a key role in assisting with the switch to electric and BP Pulse has already announced plans to spend £1 billion to develop charging infrastructure in the UK.
The company intends to make the investment over the next 10 years, which will see it triple the number of public charging points in its UK network.
Its 300kW and 150kW ultra-fast charging points will be able to provide EV drivers up to 100 miles of range with around 10 minutes of charging, depending on the model of electric vehicle.
Osprey Charging will also roll out 150 rapid electric vehicle charging hubs across UK over the next four years.
"Charging stations must be accessible for all." Ian Johnston, Osprey Charging
Ian Johnston, CEO of Osprey Charging, said the Government’s plan is an important step towards ensuring the UK has the right number of charging points nationwide.
“These charging stations simply must be reliable, easy to navigate and importantly, accessible for all,” he said. “There are already many billions of pounds of private investment committed for the deployment of charging infrastructure across the UK.
“The announcements will allow this funding to provide critical infrastructure to the areas that are as yet underserved – notably motorway service areas and local authority towns and cities across the nation.”
How many charging points are there in the UK?
As of 31 March 2022 the total number of locations which have a public charging point installed is 19,153, according to Zap Map.
The number of devices at those locations is 30,423 and the total number of connectors within these devices is 51,022.
How much is the UK Government spending on EV charge points?
The Government is spending £1.6 billion to increase public electric vehicle (EV) charge points tenfold to 300,000 by 2030.
It will spend £500 million on public charge points for local communities, including a £450 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund, which will boost projects such as EV hubs and innovative on-street charging.
A pilot scheme for the LEVI fund has been launched, which will see local authorities bid for a share of £10 million in funding.
The LEVI funding includes up to £50 million to fund staff to work on local challenges and public chargepoint planning. This will ensure that any development complements all other zero emission forms of travel, such as walking and cycling, the Department for Transport said.
The existing £950 million Rapid Charging Fund will support the roll out of at least 6,000 high powered super-fast chargepoints across England’s motorways by 2035.
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