To coincide with the EV Summit, which starts today, Shell have announced its ambition to have 50,000 on-street electric vehicle (EV) charge posts installed across the UK by the end of 2025. This will take place through ubitricity, who are part of the Shell group.
The move is part of a wider effort to bring more electric vehicle charging availability to the millions of UK drivers without private parking. Plus, it will help local authorities get their charging networks up and running as quickly as possible.
Around 3,600 ubitricity chargers are already in place in the UK using existing street infrastructure such as lamp posts and bollards. In order to drive take-up to reach the 50,000 figure, Shell will support local authorities with a financing offer to install more ubitricity on-street chargers in towns and cities across the UK at potentially zero cost.
The UK government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) currently meets 75 percent of the cost of installing on-street chargers through the On-Street Residential Charging Scheme (ORCS). For local authorities looking to install ubitricity charge posts, Shell is prepared to cover the remaining costs, subject to commercial terms.
More than 60 percent of households in English cities and urban areas do not have off-street parking. This figure rises to 68 percent for people living in social housing, according to recent figures.
David Bunch, Shell’s UK country chair, said: “It’s vital to speed up the pace of EV charger installation across the UK and this aim and financing offer is designed to help achieve that.
“Whether at home, at work or on-the-go, we want to give drivers across the UK accessible EV charging options, so that more drivers can switch to electric.”
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Rachel Maclean, transport minister, said: “Together with industry and local authorities, we can create cleaner, greener local communities providing EV chargepoints for people without off-street parking across the country.
“As more and more people make the switch to electric, this is a great example of how private investment is being used alongside Government support to ensure that our EV infrastructure is fit for the future. This is crucial as we build back greener and accelerate towards COP26.”
The UK Committee for Climate Change recently recommended that the UK needed 150,000 public charge points operating across the UK by 2025. Today’s announcement, which is a third of that total, sits alongside the rapid roll-out of Shell-owned charge points at forecourts, supermarkets, businesses and homes, to provide the UK’s EV drivers with the full range of charging options.
Globally, Shell is aiming to expand its EV charging offer to operate 500,000 charge points by 2025. This is part of its broader target to be a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, in step with society’s progress in achieving the goal of the UN Paris Agreement on climate change.
This is great news for all of those that don’t have access to off-street parking, especially as it will be funded by Shell and take place by 2025. Hopefully, this will lead the way to a rapid expansion of on-street charging.
We will bring you more announcements from the EV Summit, which brings together the most significant gathering of emobility leaders to explore how to advance battery-electric mobility, as they are released.
