Report: EV charger rollout too slow to support 2030 ICE ban

Think tank says chargers must be installed in UK five times faster than at the current rate

A new report from the Policy Exchange think tank has found that the current rate of EV infrastructure expansion isn't sufficient to support the UK's ban on the sale of new combustion-engined cars in 2030. 

Published as the the government pledges £20 million to the installation of streetside EV chargers over the next two years, the Charging Up report outlines the "critical role" that public chargers will play in the government's Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution that was revealed last year.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps today said that "drivers across the country should benefit from the electric vehicle revolution we’re seeing right now" and hailed the UK's charging network as "world-leading," but The Policy Exchange has identified a number of shortcomings and potential pitfalls in its planned expansion. 

According to the authors, chargers need to be installed five times faster than at the current rate in order to ensure the network is appropriately sized to meet the expected influx of EVs on UK roads. 

There are roughly 35,000 public chargers in the UK today, with 7000 added to the network on average each year. The Policy Exchange estimates that some 400,000 chargers will be needed by 2030.

It estimates the scaled-up roll-out would cost between £5 billion and £10bn by 2030. The UK government has pledged £35m to installing EV chargers over the past three years and committed a further £1.3bn to the scheme before 2030. 

The Policy Exchange argues that the government must also intervene to support charging firms as they "grapple with expensive connections to the electricity grid," suggesting that it should "procure charge points through regular tenders that offer long-term contracts for EV charge points" in much the same way as offshore windfarms have been established. 

Additional barriers to EV uptake are the potential "charging blackspots" in rural areas with little EV infrastructure investment and a lack of private investment in infrastructure roll-out. The think tank argues that government grants to EV charging firms are unlikely to bring about the necessary ramp-up, because they don't necessarily guarantee higher income from the chargers installed. 

Instead, private firms should be offered contracts to supply chargers to a local area, with a price cap imposed on charging at any government-supported device installed as a result, to avoid certain areas becoming more expensive. 

In residential areas, the government should provide "time-limited support" for local authorities to improve local charging facilities, removing obstacles such as lengthy parking restriction alteration processes and speeding up necessary roadworks. 

The Conservative MP for Middlebrough South and East Cleveland, Simon Clarke, concurred with the findings of the report: "My constituency has a handful of charge points, while whole neighbourhoods of London are already saturated. As with the enduring problems of broadband roll-out, which leave blackspots even today, the market misses out large parts of the UK, especially smaller towns and rural areas. 

"If the UK is to meet our ambitious target of a 2030 phase-out of new petrol and diesel cars, then this has to change. The target is appropriate, as transport is the largest carbon-emitting sector, but it will depend on the decisions of car owners. 

"Drivers will only buy cars that they can drive with confidence." 

*READ MORE*

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