The Scottish Government has announced a £7m fund to help five Scottish councils adopt greener transport.
Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council, The Highland Council, Moray Council and Dundee City Council will benefit from the cash boost to enhance their electric vehicle (EV) charging network.
The government hopes the fund will encourage further investment from the private sector, which plays a crucial role in Transport Scotland’s net zero plans.
Published last year, the government’s vision for a public EV charging network outlines the network will not “grow at the scale and pace required with public funding alone”.
Transport secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “I’m pleased that the Scottish Government is providing over £7m in targeted support to attract further private investment in our publicly accessible electric vehicle charging network.
“The scale of our ambition to decarbonise transport cannot be met alone and I expect that our commitment for approximately 24,000 additional public charge points by 2030 will largely be met by the private sector.”
This announcement marks the first step of the EV Infrastructure Fund.
Dundee City Council has been awarded £300,000 with the remaining cash to be shared between the other four councils.
Launched in 2022, the fund aims to deliver £60m to EV charging networks across Scotland by 2026. At least half of such investment is intended to be drawn from the private sector, according to Transport Scotland.
Private firms are “ready” to invest “at pace and scale” in charging infrastructure and help the government deliver its vision, according to Vicky Read, chief executive of EV charging industry trade body, Charge UK.
Read added: “Our members will invest over £6bn in rolling out EV infrastructure before 2030 to provide affordable and convenient charging for all in every part of the UK.”
The successful roll-out of EV chargers will also support the government’s overarching target to phase out petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.
Jim Savege, chief executive of the Aberdeenshire Council, said: “The commitment to and journey towards net zero is a significant challenge for us all and one that requires leadership and activity at scale and pace.
“We are looking for a private sector partner to work with us and co-invest alongside us, a partner who has the same ambition and commitment to net zero, and who has the scale, reach and commitment to work with communities across the north of Scotland as we change our approach to travel and connectivity across the area.”