IQ News: Accelerating EV Charging Infrastructure and Roll-Out

Following the publication of the UK government’s 10 Point Plan for Green Industrial Revolution in November 2020, the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be completely phased out of the UK by 2030. By 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero-emission at the tailpipe.

To support the transition to move millions of vehicles to zero emissions, the government committed to invest £1.5bn from 2015 to 2020 and announced a further £2.8bn package of investment for 2021, to help increase the pace of this transition.

According to Zap Map, the UK has made fast progress on its promise of a green future in the first quarter of 2022 by implementing 30,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging devices across the UK – approximately a 50% increase compared to the previous year.

In addition, the government has made amendments to the Building Regulations in England, requiring all new homes and buildings such as supermarkets and workplaces to have EV charging points installed from June 2022. The proposal also called for buildings to provide charging infrastructure for every five parking spaces.

While plans to implement EV charging stations to new buildings are not new – California and Germany as examples – the UK hope to make the charging points “smart”, to prevent grid overload and encourage charging at off-peak times through bi-directional communications. The smart charging points would also need to adhere to the existing cyber security standard, ETSI EN 303 645.

EV Adoption in the US

As the UK makes significant milestones towards an EV economy, the US is also making strides. Currently, 96% of all new vehicles in the US are using internal combustion engines, however, US President Jo Biden is investing US$2.2 trillion into the legislative framework, Build Back Better, to make 50% of cars on the road electric by 2030.

The Bank of America predicts the commercialisation of EVs in the US will start in 2022, with Ford and General Motors being the biggest share gainers in the EV market, while Tesla’s EV market share will fall from 69% to 19% in 2024, reported IG.

Andrew Frick, Vice Sales President of US and Canada at Ford, said: “2022 represents a turning point for Ford in electrified vehicles, as our electrified portfolio grew at nearly four times the rate of the industry segment.”

Meanwhile, General Motors told IG their customers’ reaction to their EV Hummer was overwhelming, which caused them to invest an additional $7bn into their battery cell and EV manufacturing.

Giving Motorists the Confidence to Switch

While it is clear progress is being made for the mass roll-out of EVs across the UK, automotive spokespeople have voiced concerns that by 2030 there will still not be enough public charging points to meet demand.

“This is undermining consumer confidence to make the switch, with range anxiety now replaced by charging anxiety,” warned Mike Hawes, Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

To overcome these concerns the UK government has said its upcoming strategy will address “our vision to create a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK,” – supporting the planned rollout of charging points in homes, businesses, and on residential streets, according to the Financial Times.

For more on EVs, check out our Electrics and Electronics resource centre.