Updated: Connected Kerb to install 190,000 EV chargers

Connected Kerb, the electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure company, has announced plans to install 190,000 public on-street EV chargers, worth up to £1.9bn, by 2030.

The company has secured new partnerships for 10,000 public on-street EV chargers across the UK in 2021, the majority of which will be deployed across West Sussex and Kent, announced today (November 8).

It said the investment will revolutionise access to EV charging for drivers without off-street parking and help support mass market charging for workplaces and fleets.

Dr Chris Pateman-Jones, chief executive officer at Connected Kerb, said: “Our rollout of public chargers – one of the most ambitious the UK has ever seen – encapsulates that future, helping individuals and businesses to confidently make the switch to electric, reducing their carbon footprint and cutting air pollution.

“Targets are important – for an industry so critical to the decarbonisation of transport, we need goals to work towards and objectives to which we are all accountable. However, they need to be met with action.

“With deals confirmed for 10,000 chargers this year alone and 30,000 more expected next year, we are demonstrating that we’re getting on with the job and delivering the change that needs to happen – not just talking about it.”

Deals for a further 30,000 chargers are expected conclude next year, as part of the company’s ambition to ‘level up’ charging across the UK.

Transport minister, Trudy Harrison said: "Providing reliable and affordable on-street charging is vital as we work to decarbonise transport and level up across the country.

"It's great to see Connected Kerb and local authorities working together as the Government commits £2.5bn towards electric vehicle grants and the development of EV infrastructure in our towns and cities."

The UK government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles meets 75% of the cost of installations through the On-Street Residential Charging Scheme (ORCS), while Connected Kerb provides the remaining 25%, it said.

Kent County Council has also announced it has chosen Connected Kerb to deploy at least 600 chargers by 2023.

Charge point installations have been announced today as part of tenders with councils including: Coventry (300 chargers), Cambridge (360) and Plymouth (100), and recently, Milton Keynes (250), Warrington (30), Medway (30), and Glasgow City Council, East Lothian Council, Shropshire County Council and Hackney Council, as part of the Agile Streets trial (100).

Lord Gerry Grimstone, minister for investment at the Department for International Trade and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said: “Connected Kerb’s significant investment in electric vehicle chargers will support the UK’s commitment to green growth and ambitious net zero targets.

“Investments like this will be vital to help reduce emissions and limit the rise in global temperatures whilst driving jobs, growth and levelling up across the country.”

Neil Isaacson, CEO of Liberty Charge, also welcomed Connected Kerb’s ambition to install 190,000 charge points in the UK by 2030.

"We are pleased to see that it shares our vision that EV charging needs to be accessible to all, anywhere and at anytime. Our industry has a key role to play, today, in tackling the chronic deficit in on-street charging in the UK, and supporting local authorities in providing their residents with reliable, safe and high-quality vehicle charging to inspire the confidence required for EV adoption," he said.

"At Liberty Charge, we understand the vast breadth and depth of the challenges that local authorities are facing with regards to restricted budgets, legislation, location of chargers, resident pressure (both for and against EV installations), quality and longevity of equipment, the diversity of technology and simply the time required from planning to installation. And we believe it is vital that we instil trust that our ambitions can be delivered.

"That’s why, working in partnership with Virgin Media O2, we’re already installing charge points and committing to ongoing maintenance, helping local authorities to give confidence to drivers looking to adopt EVs. And, crucially, helping them to make a difference to the environment and communities in which they live.

"Our recent initiatives include Hammersmith and Fulham, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, West and North Northamptonshire Councils, and Croydon."

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