New technologies have been given funding by Government to counter the lack of sufficient charging points for electric vehicles (EVs) around the country, including ‘pop-up,’ wireless and wifi recharging.
The sum of £37 million has been awarded to 12 projects aimed at transforming the way EVs are charged. Schemes that have been awarded funding includedeveloping ‘pop-up’ EV chargepoints and using high speed internet connections to charge EVs, meaning electric cars of the future could charge without the need to plug in a cable.
Electric charging company Char.gy has been awarded more than £2.3m to deploy wireless charging technology on residential streets without the need for trailing cables and additional infrastructure. Initial three-month feasibility studies have been completed and successful projects are moving onto the next stage of development.
Meanwhile, smart city consultancy, Urban Foresight, has been awarded more than £3m to develop pop-up chargers, which are built into the pavement to provide a charging solution for EV drivers with no off-street parking.
A wifi project aims to leverage existing Virgin Media physical and online infrastructure to deliver charging for EVs using high speed internet connections to better share information online on charging progress and parking spaces
Further projects to receive funding include: installing chargepoints in car parks to allow for mass charging at night, and a storage and advanced electronics project that will deliver semi-rapid charging using a low power grid connection, thereby minimising the need for costly substation upgrades.
Michael Ellis, Minister for Future Mobility, said: “We’re charging up the transport revolution and investing in technologies to transform the experience for electric vehicle drivers.
“Ensuring the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is reliable and innovative is encouraging more people to join the record numbers of ultra-low emission vehicle users already onUKroads.”
The funding announcement marks the one-year anniversary of the Government’s Road to Zero strategy which sets out new measures to clean up road transport and lead the world in developing, manufacturing and using zero emission road vehicles.
Through funding these projects, the Government says it is incentivising drivers to move towards buying EVs, supporting the key aims of the strategy.
The Government announcement was welcomed by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association’s (BVRLA) as it coincided with its own zero-emission vehicle initiative, the BVRLA Plug-in Pledge, which has committed the vehicle leasing, rental and car club industry to making 300,000 plug-in vehicle registrations per year in 2025.
BVRLA director of external relations, Toby Poston, said: “The pledge we launched last July saw us commit to increase the BVRLA’s combined plug-in fleet from 50,000 vehicles to 720,000 in 2025.
“We are pleased to report that we are on track, with growth of 40% taking the combined fleet to 70,000 plug-in vehicles by the end of 2018.
“The Government acknowledges the vital role our industry plays in delivering cleaner road transport. BVRLA members are currently responsible for around 35% of the UK’s plug-in electric vehicles, but this figure can be far greater with the right incentives and support for fleets.
“Our recent Road to Zero Report Card report set out a number of recommendations to government on charging infrastructure. These included providing more funding and support to eliminate the UK’s rapid public charge point ‘blackspots’ and the need to mandate universal methods of access and payment.”
The new Government funding announcement comes after a fall in registrations for alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) in June. While pure EVs were up 61.7%, plug-in hybrids continued the recent downward trend, falling by a 50.4%, while hybrids also fell, by 4.7%.
The performance tipped the overall AFV sector into negative growth for the first time since April 2017, prompting many commentators to call for urgent Government action.
