analysis: ev infrastructure
The flaws at the heart of the Government’s £1.6bn EV Infrastructure Strategy Mark Bursa
O
N MARCH 25, THE DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT unveiled the Government’s £1.6 billion Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy (EVIS).
It looks good at first sight – the objective is to provide funds for 300,000 EV charge points across the UK. Crucially, this is intended to be a mix of ultra-rapid DC chargers on motorways and trunk roads, workplace chargers and AC on-street chargers in residential areas. Of that total, £950 million is already committed to the Rapid Chargepoint Investment Scheme (RCIS), which is supporting the roll-out of 6,000 ultra-
rapid charge points across UK motorways. These are being installed and operated by large chains such as Gridserve, Ionity and Instavolt. The additional element is the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund, which it is pivotal to the overall strategy. LEVI funds are designed to provide residential on-street charging and urban rapid charging hubs. The plan has been welcomed by London
[FROM LEFT] BP Pulse’s Richard Bartlett and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps MP
BP Pulse to invest £1 billion in UK EV charging infrastructure BP has announced new plans to invest £1 billion in its BP Pulse electric vehicle charging arm in the UK over the next 10 years. The investment will allow BP Pulse to deliver more rapid and ultrafast chargers in key locations, expand fleet products and services, and launch new home charge digital products and services to enhance the customer experience. The investment will see BP Pulse triple the number of public charging points in its UK network, as well as accelerating the roll out of state-of-the-art 300kW and 150kW ultra-fast charging points, which can provide up to 100 miles of range in around 10 minutes of charging, depending on the EV model. BP Pulse will also upgrade its current EV charging technology across its public charging network to improve reliability. The company expects the move to create hundreds of new jobs in the UK. The Government, which at the same time published its EV Infrastructure Strategy, has welcomed the investment. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “I am delighted that BP Pulse is supporting the transition to cleaner vehicles as we accelerate toward our net-zero ambitions and boost green jobs opportunities right across the UK.” Shapps unveiled the EVIS plans at BP Pulse’s UK headquarters in Milton Keynes. Richard Bartlett, senior vice president, BP Pulse said: “This £1bn investment is vital to provide the charging infrastructure the UK needs. We’re investing to build a world-class network. This investment allows us to deliver more high-speed charging in dedicated hubs and on existing fuel and convenience sites. More home charging services. And crucial enhancements to our digital technology that will make charging fast, easy and reliable.” BP plans that for every £1 it makes in the UK this decade; it plans
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to spend £2 – including investments to help the UK towards net zero. Other plans include a scheme to develop up to 5.9GW gross of offshore wind capacity across the Irish Sea and North Sea and plans to produce 1.5GW of low carbon hydrogen in Teesside, 30% of the UK’s 2030 target, from its H2Teesside and HyGreen Teesside projects. Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive said: “Investments such as this are essential to give motorists the confidence to switch to EVs, and we need to see the full variety of charging locations – the motorway, at work, destinations and, especially, on-street charging, if we are to decarbonise road transport at pace.” BP Pulse also aims to play a significant role in helping to electrify the UK’s fleet vehicles and intends to help accelerate the roll-out of EV charging solutions to the UK’s businesses. It is already working with Royal Mail, Uber and emergency services in both London and Scotland. —Mark Bursa
APRIL 2022
