Electric vehicle charge point pilot launched by BT Group

BT Group will examine the potential of converting or upgrading its street cabinets to electric vehicle (EV) charging units.   

The telecoms giant’s digital start-up company, Etc, will spend the next two years undertaking technical and commercial pilots, with the first phase starting in Northern Ireland in the autumn.

It will be open to Openreach and BT Group employees and will be expanded with more pilot locations being added across the UK later in the year.

The pilots, says BT, will provide critical insight into the viability to scale EV charging to more locations across its estate. 

The cabinets are currently used for providing copper-based broadband and phone services, and will be decommissioned as the nationwide upgrade to full fibre progresses.

While at an early stage, if successful re-purposing the street cabinets could make an important contribution to decarbonising the transport system and supporting the UK’s plans to get to net zero, says BT.

The team will scope a range of different technical, commercial and operational considerations with bringing this EV charge point network online.

Etc’s early projections suggest that, over time, as many as 60,000 of the Group’s 90,000 cabinets may be suitable for upgrades to EV charge points.

However, BT stressed that neither the trials nor any potential scaling of the new EV charge network would present any change or disruption to the telecommunications services supported from the cabinets.

A decision on any further scaling on this programme, it added, will depend on the success of the two years of pilots.

“With the ban on sales of internal combustion engine vehicles coming in 2030, and with only around 45,000 public charge points today, the UK needs a massive upgrade to meet the needs of the EV revolution,” said Tom Guy, managing director of Etc.

“We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to connect for good in a whole new way by innovating around our cabinet infrastructure.

“The pilots are critical for the team to work through the assessment and establish effective technical, commercial and operational routes to market over the next two years.”

The project has a number of opportunities and considerations and involves collaboration across the Group to assess the potential in this sector and test the technology, says BT.

Helen Clarkson, CEO at Climate Group, said: “We're seeing more and more ambitious commitments from corporates to grow their EV fleets in the coming years.

“Programmes like BT Group’s are an incentive for other businesses and drivers to go electric. But we need the UK Government to play its part - wider availability of charge points right across the country, not just in London, will help build confidence that switching to an EV is the right option.”