A new public charge point is being installed every 25 minutes and there are nearly a million domestic, workplace and public charge points, according to a new study of the sector by voice of the sector ChargeUK.
The body’s report, “Powering Ahead to 2030”, worked with independent transport research organisation New AutoMotive, and also found that current infrastructure can provide enough power to enable every EV in the UK to drive 580 miles a day.
If current growth continues, the rollout of public chargers will track ahead of EV adoption and there will be over 300,000 public charge points in the UK by 2030, it said.
New ChargeUK analysis shows that there are over 930,000 public, home and work chargers supporting 1.1 million fully electric vehicles (EVs), meaning that there is almost one charger for every EV.
Today’s charge point network can deliver nearly seven gigawatts of power every day, enough power to enable every single one of the UK’s EVs to drive 580 miles a day, it found.
Over 25 times further than the average daily journey (21 miles) and further than the distance between London and Aberdeen.
To keep accelerating at today’s pace and stay on track for 2030, the charging sector needs the new government to help us get even more chargers in the ground, the report said, by removing the grid, planning and permitting delays slowing us down, and including renewable electricity in the RTFO.
It also said it needs to make charging and owing an EV as easy and affordable as possible, including equalising VAT on charging, and also to maximise private investment.
Vicky Read, CEO of ChargeUK said:
“In little more than a decade, the UK’s charging sector has grown to become a major player in the green economy, providing the infrastructure that more than a million EV drivers rely on today and scaling fast to deliver the charging needed through to 2030 and beyond.
“Convenient and affordable charging for all is key to the UK’s switch to EVs. This new analysis will give current and future EV drivers confidence that the charging infrastructure will be there for them.
“While the outlook is positive, there is still work to be done. Delivering what the UK needs by 2030 means continuing to grow at pace, ensuring that deployment ramps up in locations that have been hampered by delays, and ensuring the UK has a thriving EV market, so that investment in infrastructure continues at scale.
“ChargeUK’s members are committed to this, but we cannot do this without the backing of the new Government, who we call on take the steps needed to remove delivery barriers, help us offer affordable charging and support our investment, as set out in our manifesto.”
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