10,000 electric car chargers to be installed in one UK area by 2030

The partnership aims to deliver 10,000 public electric car chargers across Surrey by 2030. If successful, it will also be the most significant charge point rollout carried out by a local authority to date. The project is part of the Government’s Net Zero review, which is expected to bring around 300,000 new chargers to British roads by 2030. 

As part of the project, Connected Kerb will provide £60million of investment that will deliver on-street chargers as well as public car park charge points. 

Data shows that currently there is only one charger per 9,000 residents in Surrey. That figure, however, is set to rapidly change as the investment is likely to bring 5,000 fast charging points by 2027 alone.

Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, said: “If one local authority can deliver such a significant boost to the UK’s charging network, just imagine what we could achieve by 2030 if every city, county, and combined authority was empowered to do the same.

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“The recent Net Zero Review was clear – local authorities can become the driving force behind the rollout of charging infrastructure across the country, and our partnership with Surrey County Council is case and point.

“If local authorities are the door to a clean transport future, then charging networks like Connected Kerb are the key, providing the tools and expertise needed to unlock the transition at the pace and scale required to reach net zero.

“Although the Government’s estimate of 300,000 chargers by 2030 may feel ambitious, it’s eminently possible – and necessary – to achieve; this deal proves it.”

Matt Furniss, Cabinet Member for Transport, Infrastructure and Growth at Surrey County Council, echoed the claims saying that “high-quality, reliable, and accessible charging infrastructure is critical to accelerating the uptake of electric vehicles across the county and serving the needs of all our local communities”.

Mr Furniss continued: “Surrey County Council has a commitment to be a carbon net zero county by 2050, and a large part of us achieving that comes from supporting residents to make the switch to electric vehicles.

“Over the last two years, we’ve installed over 100 EV charge points in Surrey, and this has given us the opportunity to trial different suppliers and processes.

“We have an established relationship with Connected Kerb and this contract will enable us to expand our network of charge points and speed up the installation process, to provide services to our residents faster.”

The partnership will not only provide more chargers for drivers, but it also aims to tackle accessibility challenges. 

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The ambition of the project is to make one in five of the EV charging bays accessible to drivers with disabilities. 

This will ensure that the 2.35 million blue badge holders on UK roads will also be able to use fast charging points. 

Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP, Minister of State for Decarbonisation and Technology, Department for Transport, said: “The announcement marks another step in the growth of our public charge point network, enabling more and more motorists to make the switch to electric vehicles.

“The UK is seeing hundreds of millions of pounds of private investment in EV charging across the country, with valuable support from the Government, and it’s great to see innovative British companies like Connected Kerb working with local authorities to deliver ambitious projects such as this one.”

Connected Kerb will provide its entire product range as part of the rollout. This will include 7kW and 22kW Gecko chargers, Chameleon chargers for streets and car parks, as well as the wall-mounted Limpet and the Scarab chargers throughout housing developments.

Connected Kerb’s Chameleon charger has been designed specifically to cater to those with accessibility needs.

In addition to the EV charging points, the contract will deliver significant value to Surrey residents through Connected Kerb’s social value projects.

These will cover a range of initiatives including working with local educational centres to provide industry support to pupils interested in learning about EV charge points, providing employability support to vulnerable young people, as well as supporting a number of charities within the county.

source: express.co.uk