EV infrastructure strategy targets ten-fold increase in charge points by 2030

The Government has launched its Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy, designed to boost the UK’s network of public electric car chargers from 30,000 to 300,000 by 2030. Backed by £1.6 billion, the Department for Transport (DfT) says that is almost five times the number of fuel pumps on the country’s roads today.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says the EV Infrastructure Strategy will create new high-skilled jobs

A core element of the plan is to make charging “easier and cheaper” than refuelling a petrol or diesel car. Key barriers to EV driving, DfT says, will be removed with new legal requirements on operators to provide real-time data on chargepoint availability and allowing drivers to pay by contactless, compare charging prices and find nearby chargepoints via apps. The plans also mandate a 99% reliability rate at rapid chargepoints.

The new strategy sets out the government’s aim to provide a charging network that is “robust, fair and covers the entire country – as well as improving the consumer experience at all chargepoints, with significant support focused on those without access to off-street parking, and on fast charging for longer journeys.”

£500 million will be invested to bring high quality, competitively priced public chargepoints to communities across the UK. This includes a £450 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund, which will boost projects such as EV hubs and innovative on-street charging, so “those without driveways don’t miss out on cleaner transport”.

A pilot scheme for the LEVI fund launching will see local authorities bid for a share of £10 million in funding, allowing selected areas to work with industry and boost public charging opportunities.

Meanwhile, the LEVI funding includes up to £50 million to fund staff to work on local challenges and public chargepoint planning – ensuring that any development complements all other zero emission forms of travel, such as walking and cycling.

The existing £950 million Rapid Charging Fund will support the rollout of at least 6,000 high powered super-fast chargepoints across England’s motorways by 2035. This comes on top of ministers’ pledges to continue addressing barriers to private sector rollout of chargepoints, such as local councils delaying planning permission and high connection costs.

The plan forms part of wider government plans to reduce the UK’s reliance on imports of foreign oil, improving the security of our energy supply and reducing the country’s vulnerability to volatility in global energy prices. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “Clean transport isn’t just better for the environment, but is another way we can drive down our dependence on external energy supplies.”

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said, “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.”