As the uptake of electric vehicles continues to gather pace, the pressure to expand charging infrastructure in new and innovative ways is growing rapidly. In 2021, there were 266 EVs to each public charger in the UK, but the ratio is set to reach 527 vehicles per charger by 2031 unless infrastructure is significantly scaled up.
One of the areas in particular need of innovation is on-street charging for vehicle owners who do not have private driveways or the ability to install chargepoints in their homes.
A new pilot backed by £20 million of government and industry funding is seeking to remedy this by delivering 1,000 faster on-street chargers and public charging hubs across the country.
The Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme will see chargepoints installed in Barnet, Dorset, Durham, Kent, Midlands Connect, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Warrington.
Examples of the solutions being funded include ‘flat-and-flush’ charging technology to be installed in Barnet by Trojan Energy (pictured). The chargers are designed to be flush with the ground with no permanent raised structure, leaving the pavement clear and fully accessible to other pavement users when not in use. Customers use a special lance, which they keep in their possession, to connect their vehicle to the chargepoint when required.
Ian Mackenzie, CEO of Trojan Energy, said: “We know that people are four times more likely to own an electric vehicle if they have a driveway but, by rolling out Trojan Energy’s on-street charging points, we are making owning an EV increasingly accessible to the millions of motorists that park on-street without cluttering our streets with permanent charging posts.”
The LEVI scheme builds on the success of the government’s On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS), which has seen nearly 2,900 charge points installed so far and funding provided for around 10,000 additional charge points in future.
Following growing demand from local authorities, the government has allocated a further £10 million in funding to be brought forward this year, bringing ORCS funding to £30 million to help maintain ongoing installations.
Nicholas Lyes, head of roads policy at RAC, commented: “There are many drivers who do not have driveways or any form of off-street parking, so investing in streetside charging is an absolute necessity. The goal must be to spark electric vehicle uptake by creating an excellent charging infrastructure that caters for everyone’s needs.”