We recently shared the news that Durham County Council have teamed with Kerbo Charge to roll out innovative no-trip charging cables into the pavements. This pilot scheme has the potential to unlock EV charging for millions of people without private driveways through community charging.
This scheme is an elegant solution for those with on-road parking. But, can it be taken further?
We caught up with Emma Loveday, Senior Fleet Consultant at Volkswagen Financial Services Fleet, who posited the idea that we could use these pavement charging cables for more than just private charging.
“As adoption of EVs in fleets increases, more needs to be done to support the rollout of public charging infrastructure, not only to meet fleet demands, but also to meet the UK’s 2030 target. But despite fleet drivers becoming more accepting of the switch to electric, negative sentiment towards public charging remains both in the media and wider industry. More charging points are needed to meet growing demand.
“Government commitment and investment in charging infrastructure must continue, but there’s an existing solution to help alleviate demand and fill gaps in the public network – community charging.
“Not all fleet drivers will be able to install a home charging point. As the adoption of EVs increases, more fleets will be solely reliant on the public charging network. Introducing an Airbnb style of community charging, whereby private individuals make their own home chargers available to others when not in use, could help alleviate some of the anxiety facing EV fleet operators, drivers and the wider industry regarding the speed of the infrastructure rollout.
“The Durham County Council scheme means residents without a driveway can still have a home charger installed on their property and be able to charge their electric vehicle at home. With more properties being able to have a home charger, this increases the number of chargers that can be made available to others to use via community charging. For those in urban areas where space can be a challenge and driveways not as prevalent, and in rural areas where public charging options are thin on the ground, Kerbo Charge cables can support in expanding the network of EV charging points and reducing charging anxiety in EV fleet users.”
The concept of ‘community charging’ is novel and, potentially, game-changing. Private charging owners extending their network to outside of their household may seem unusual at first, but considering the popularity of renting car parking spaces in today’s cities, it seems like a logical next step.
The ongoing importance of government investment and commitment to supplement these initiatives and ensure a comprehensive, accessible, and efficient charging network is essential. But, as demand heightens, community charging could form a vital part of the charging eco-system that will allow a green, sustainable future.
