Electric Vehicles and the UK Infrastructure
2021 strategy and sustainability
For many of us, 2021 will be themed around sustaining an income and sustaining the planet.
An important tactic for achieving a net-zero future is the ban on petrol and diesel car sales by 2030. But how did we get to this point and will we have the infrastructure in place in time?
In 2017, the UK environment minister Michael Gove claimed a political win in the fight against poor air quality and climate change when he triumphantly announced plans to ban the sale of petrol cars by 2040. The policy, which was received with cynicism over motivations and practicalities, has since been pushed forward to 2030. But is the cynicism surrounding the transformation from petrol to electric vehicles (EV’s) justified?
Back then, the government was under increasing pressure from the British Supreme Court to clean up our cities’ deadly air. Low-carbon policies were encouraging the purchase of diesel vehicles, these same vehicles emitting high levels of nitrogen dioxide and said to have caused around 40,000 deaths annually, second only to smoking.
It appeared that Gove was fighting the good fight to protect our health, but do the cynics have a point? At around about the same time, the UK’s Committee on Climate Change, which is tasked with advising the government on meeting its climate change targets, suggested that sales of petrol and diesel cars would end by 2035. This was more to do with market forces because consumer demand was increasing rapidly as electric vehicles became cheaper and more desirable.
Gove had grabbed positive headlines for the conservative government through appearing to take decisive action. However, due to the help from the ‘invisible guiding hand’ of market forces, little action will be required from the government as consumers are already spontaneously, but slowly, migrating to electric vehicles. Meaning, problems with air quality that need to be dealt with now will be addressed over 10 years, equating to 400,000 deaths if pollution remains at today’s levels over that period.
Even if the cynics are correct about motives, it’s clear from the death toll caused by air pollution that action to remove petrol and diesel cars from our streets is a good thing. But what about the infrastructure? Recent reports highlight that the nation is far from ready to support the transition to electric vehicles.
On one hand, the concern is justified. For example, Leeds, which has the greatest density of rapid electric vehicle chargers, only has 1 per 35,794 residents as of 30th of September 2020. In London, where arguably the transition to electric vehicles is desperately needed due to its poor air quality, there is only 1 rapid charger for every 48,201 people. If the 40 million or so cars on British roads are to be replaced by electric vehicles by 2030, our current charging infrastructure is desperately inadequate.
However, there’s no need to panic about being stranded in the middle of nowhere or stuck queuing for hours unable to charge the ‘milk float’, as some unsympathetic motoring journalists like to call electric cars. Firstly, as of October 2020, 373,600 plugin cars were registered in the UK, and according to Zap-Map, there are nearly 34,600 charge points. This equates to roughly 1 charge point for every 10 electric vehicle owners. Additionally, tools like Zap-Map help consumers to make informed decisions about whether the infrastructure is in place to meet their specific needs.
Zap-Map
This transformation could well be accelerated by government incentives to promote the transition from petrol to EV. For domestic users, The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) offers grants of up to £350 towards the installation of home or workplace electric car charging points for vehicles bought after 2016. Additionally, plans are underway to integrate charge points into street furniture for the benefit of households without dedicated parking spaces. To date, over 120,000 domestic charge point installations have benefited from HMG grants as well as over 6,500 workplace installations across the UK.
Additionally, local authorities can apply for a grant to cover part of the capital costs of installing charge points for residents who lack off-street parking. The grant rate will be set at £6,500 per charge point. This can be extended to £7,500 per charge point in certain circumstances and only on occasions where a local authority demonstrates a need for greater support. So far the scheme has supported over 60 local authorities to deliver over 2,000 charge points for residents who do not have off-street parking
The government is even going a step further than simply incentivising us to make the leap to EVs through grants. It has floated plans to make it mandatory that new-build homes are fitted with an electric car charge point. Here’s what will happen if the idea goes ahead after the consultation process:
All new-build homes could be fitted with an electric car charge point as record levels of ultra-low emission vehicles hit UK roads
England set to be the first country to introduce mandatory charge points in new homes, cementing a position as a global leader in the race to net-zero emissions
The government will consult on ‘smart’ charging, to help allow consumers to save money by charging EVs off-peak
This idea has already been embraced by builder Barratt Developments in partnership with Swindon Borough Council. Over one hundred EV chargers have been installed at one of Swindon’s largest housing developments. Over the next 20 years, the partnership will deliver 3,000 new homes on the 250-hectare site, along with three primary schools and a secondary school.
It is hoped that offering this access to EV charging facilities will encourage home buyers and residents to choose EVs. Wichelstowe project director, Daniel Pavely said:
‘As well as installing ready-to-use chargers, the system will make electric vehicles a realistic, practical choice for hundreds of residents who will be able to benefit and connect to an EV network.’
Wichelstowe Project - Swindon Borough Council and Barratt Developments PLC
The market for EV’s has skyrocketed since 2011, leading to interesting solutions for EV infrastructure. Additional to the obvious response of supplying EV charge points, entrepreneurs are developing innovative new business models for capitalising on the growing market.
Take Los Angeles-based start-up Xeal. Their business model provides a passive income to owners of commercial or domestic buildings with EV chargers. AI technology is used to store electricity at its cheapest rate and a community of drivers is created through their app. This enables drivers to locate, and even book, participating charge points. Providing infrastructure owners with a healthy profit through this Airbnb-type business model.
For an apartment building with 30 parking spots, Xeal recommends five EV chargers. Those five chargers would provide an annual charging revenue of $17,550 and save 20 tons of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere. With many other projects vying for a piece of the sharing economy emerging around EV infrastructure, the logistics of fuelling our vehicles could be radically different in the near future.
So while there is certainly good cause to be cynical about the politics surrounding the transition to EVs, we can still buy petrol cars for another ten years and the average lifespan of a new car today is a further ten. In that time the world and EV technology will look very different. But for now, the pros could well outweigh the cons of going electric.
Websites like Zap-Map enable us to make informed decisions as to whether the infrastructure is ready to meet our specific needs. Plus, with government incentives and the potential to generate income from renting out chargers Airbnb style, switching to EVs could make financial sense to commercial and business users alike. Most importantly, the quicker we move, the quicker we can reduce the loss of the hundreds of thousands of lives that are being lost to poor air quality, and make our cities quieter, cleaner places for everyone.
Author Matthew Carter