With COP26 entering its second week, electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure specialist Connected Kerb has today announced its plans to install 190,000 public on-street EV chargers, worth up to £1.9bn, by 2030. The unprecedented investment aims to revolutionise access to EV charging for millions of drivers without off-street parking, and to support mass-market charging for workplaces and fleets.
The company has secured new partnerships for thousands of charge points to be delivered over the next 10 years, the majority of which will be deployed across West Sussex and Kent. According the company, the West Sussex tender is believed to be the UK’s largest ever deployment by a local authority. Deals for a further 30,000 charge points are expected conclude next year, as part of the company’s ambition to “level up” charging across the UK.
“Knowing you can arrive at virtually any location, at any time, in any vehicle and cheaply charge your battery without inconvenience or faff is the reality we have to deliver to create an EV society,” said Dr Chris Pateman-Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Connected Kerb.
“Our rollout of public chargers – one of the most ambitious the UK has ever seen – encapsulates that future, helping individuals and businesses to confidently make the switch to electric, reducing their carbon footprint and cutting air pollution.”
Connected Kerb sees local authorities as uniquely placed to spearhead the deployment of public on-street charging across the UK. The UK government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles meets 75% of the cost of installations through the On-Street Residential Charging Scheme (ORCS). In many cases, Connected Kerb provides the remaining 25%, providing a zero-cost installation opportunity for councils.
“Targets are important – for an industry so critical to the decarbonisation of transport, we need goals to work towards and objectives to which we are all accountable. However, they need to be met with action,” Pateman-Jones continued.
“With deals confirmed for 10,000 chargers this year alone and 30,000 more expected next year, we are demonstrating that we’re getting on with the job and delivering the change that needs to happen – not just talking about it.”
Connected Kerb plans to install 190,000 on-street chargers by 2030.
As of 1st July 2021, the ORCS has funded the installation of 1,459 public charging devices since the scheme was established in 2017, with a further 3,200 charge points to be installed in the near future. In this year alone, local authorities across the UK have already committed to installing up to 10,000 Connected Kerb chargers by 2030, equivalent to a near seven-fold increase in the number of chargers installed through the scheme over its entire history.
The majority of the 10,000 chargers will be installed on streets, in public sector car parks and at community facilities for West Sussex Council by 2030. The scheme will give residents the confidence to make the switch to electric vehicles in time for the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles and provide a blueprint for local authorities across the UK to deliver affordable, reliable, and accessible charge points in their thousands.
Kent County Council has also announced today that it has chosen Connected Kerb to deploy at least 600 chargers by 2023. Installations are beginning this year, with many of the chargers installed in parish towns and rural areas across Kent, providing much needed infrastructure to communities often overlooked in the EV transition.
Thousands more chargers are also announced today as part of tenders with councils including Coventry (300 chargers), Cambridge (360) and Plymouth (100), and recently, Milton Keynes (250), Warrington (30), Medway (30), and Glasgow City Council, East Lothian Council, Shropshire County Council and Hackney Council, as part of the Agile Streets trial (100).
“Providing reliable and affordable on-street charging is vital as we work to decarbonise transport and level up across the country,” said Transport Minister Trudy Harrison.
“It’s great to see Connected Kerb and local authorities working together as the Government commits £2.5bn towards electric vehicle grants and the development of EV infrastructure in our towns and cities.”
