Number of ultra-rapid chargers falls far short of goal
NEWS
THE GOVERNMENT HAS missed its target for every motorway service station in England to have six or more ultra-rapid electric vehicle (EV) chargers by the end of 2023.
The Department for Transport’s aim was for service stations to have at least six devices capable of delivering charging rates of 150kW to 350kW, this target being set in 2020 – the same year that the ban on new petrol and diesel car sales was brought forward to 2030. That deadline has now been pushed back to 2035.
Analysis by breakdown service provider RAC has revealed that only 46 of the 119 service stations operating in England have met the critera set out by the Government – just 39% of the intended total.
The scope for upgrades to the EV charging network is understood to be limited by the UK power network infrastructure. Many service stations have insufficient mains supply from the electrical grid to support the demands of higher-powered chargers.
Several large service stations, including Barton Park on the A1M motorway, Leicester Forest on the M1 and Tebay (southbound) on the M6, are still without any provision for charging EVs. The CEO of charging operator Gridserve, Toddington Harper, has said that operators could be delayed “by months or more waiting for a connection” to the grid.
In November of last year, the Government established a £70 million fund to improve the connections between service stations and the National Grid. At the time, it noted that up to 10 trial locations would be prepared for high-speed connections of more than 100kW.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper called the fund a “starting point” for upgrading the network further. Findings from the initially upgraded sites will be used to discuss a business case for a larger charging development fund.
The intent is to future-proof service stations to cope with the expected increase in EV ownership. The Government has acknowledged that limitations with the EV charging network stand in the way of more people buying electric cars, but it promised that the new fund would give buyers “more confidence to choose EVs”.
According to official figures, 286,846 EVs were sold in the first 11 months of 2023, representing 16.3% of the total market. However, while sales of EVs grew by 17.8% compared with 2022, this came from company car fleets rather than private buyers.
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