UK’s Department for Transport has published its vision for supporting growth of green, zero emission technologies. Extensive public charging infrastructure across motorways and major A roads is a key part of this transition. The Government has undertaken a detailed analysis to assess the number of chargepoints required to meet future en route charging needs along motorways and major A roads.

The Rapid Charging Fund was announced in the March 2020 Budget as part of a £500 million commitment for EV charging infrastructure. The purpose of this programme will be to ensure that there is a rapid-charging network ready to meet the long-term consumer demand for electric vehicle chargepoints ahead of need.

It will be available to fund a portion of costs at strategic sites across the strategic road network where upgrading connections to meet future demand for high powered chargepoints is prohibitively expensive and uncommercial. Timing and process for delivery of this funding will be confirmed in due course.

The following ambitions will be supported by the Rapid Charging Fund to assist where the electrical connection costs of upgrading sites to meet future charging demand is not commercially viable.

  • By 2023, we aim to have at least 6 high powered, open access chargepoints (150 – 350 kilowatt capable) at motorway service areas in England, with some larger sites having as many as 10-12. We are confident this will be more than enough to meet demand from electric vehicles by this date. These high powered chargepoints are able to charge up to 3 times faster than most of the chargepoints currently in place, and can deliver around 120-145 miles of range in just 15 minutes for a typical electric vehicle.
  • By 2030, we expect the network to be extensive and ready for more people to benefit from the switch to electric cars. We are planning for there to be around 2,500 high powered chargepoints across England’s motorways and major A roads.
  • By 2035 we expect around 6,000 high powered chargepoints across England’s motorways and major A roads.

The Government will be working with the operators of major service areas to ensure that this charging provision is in place ahead of customer demand. The aim is to help support early adoption of electric vehicles and remove range anxiety concerns for drivers on long journeys.

Read the full announcement here.