The UK can deliver the tenfold increase in charge points that the government has called for to hits its net zero targets – if five key conditions are met, according to a new report.
The Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce, a government-backed group that includes key stakeholders in the automotive, transport and energy industry, has issues a new report that it says offers an independent assessment of the scale of EV infrastructure required for the phase-out of combustion-engined car.
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The UK government has vowed to ban the sale of virtually all new non-zero emission cars and vans by 2030, and recently pledged a tenfold increase in chargepoints – with the number available rising from under 30,000 to around 300,000 – availability by that date.
The Taskforce report highlights the need for drivers to have access to “the right chargers in the right places”, and has highlighted the key conditions it thinks are needed to create the ‘sweet spot’ to help drive uptake for the EV transition.
The scale of the challenge
The report calculates that the UK will need between 253,000 and 661,000 extra charging points by 2035, depending on how fast EV uptake is, and says those chargers should be built ahead of need to encourage EV uptake.
To highlight the scale of the challenge, the report shows that to end the sale of all ICE vehicles by 2035, 2.5 million EVs will need to be sold in the UK each year by 2030, a 13-time increase on current levels. If that can be done, EVs will account for 74% of all electric cars and vans on the road.
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Notably, the report highlights the need for both rapid charging along the UK’s key road networks and near-home charging for motorists without access to at-home charging. The Taskforce estimates that around 50% of all public chargepoints will need to account for drivers without a home charger, and it wants local rapid-hub charging to be installed, because it is more cost-effective for operators than lower-speed on-street charging.
In terms of rapid charging, the Taskforce estimates 60,000 rapid chargers will be needed by 2035, more than 10 times the number offered today. In total, expanding the charging network to the level required will require £7 billion of investment – which the Taskforce believes can be delivered by the private sector.
The five key conditions
The Taskforce has identified five key conditions to ensure the necessary expansion of the charging infrastructure in a way that offers good value to drivers, is attractive to investors and builds consumer confidence.
The first is that public charging should be built ahead of need to build consumer confidence.
The Taskforce also called for local authorities to be given the tools, capability, powers and resources to offer integrated energy and transport planning.
It also wants all public chargepoints to be usable, by ensuring they are visible, accessible, connected, secure and interoperable.
The Taskforce has also highlights that it is essential for smart charging – which can enable vehicle-to-grid power sharing – is essential, while informing and educating EV users is also required.
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