At the time this story was published, the UK had just shy of 39,000 public charge points across the country. Measured against that installed base, it's easy to see what a mammoth commitment is being made when Connected Kerb announces plans for an additional 10,000 points. From this one company alone, that's a promise to increase the nation's charging options by 25%. We're keen to know how long this will take, how much it will cost and will the chargers be concentrated in South East England.
One scheme is focused on streets and public car parks across Surrey, with over 1,500 locations to benefit from this new network of chargers. It will be the largest roll-out of its kind by any local authority. Right now, the country can only offer one charger per 9,000 residents, which is clearly going to present a challenge as the market moves to stop petrol/diesel car sales by 2030.
The rollout in Surrey will consist of Connected Kerb’s entire product range, including 7kW and 22kW Gecko chargers, Chameleon chargers for on-street and car parks, the wall-mounted Limpet and the Scarab throughout housing developments. Connected Kerb’s Chameleon charger has been designed specifically to cater to those with accessibility needs.
The investment figure being touted by Connected Kerb and Surrey County Council is in the region of £60 million. While the majority of the early work will focus on Surrey, there is also a plan to create 500 rapid charging points across the UK.
As we reported earlier this month, February saw more cars sold with electric motors (in some engine capacity) than fossil-fuel vehicles. Pure EV adoption rates are phenomenal and continue to grow.
In the recent Net Zero Review (published by Government advisor Rt Hon Chris Skidmore MP), opportunities for local authorities to take a leading role in the rollout of charging infrastructure were highlighted. This partnership between Surrey County Council and Connected Kerb will be exactly the sort of public/private partnership that they would have had in mind.
Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, told media: “If one local authority can deliver such a significant boost to the UK’s charging network, just imagine what we could achieve by 2030 if every city, county and combined authority was empowered to do the same. The recent Net Zero Review was clear – local authorities can become the driving force behind the rollout of charging infrastructure across the country, and our partnership with Surrey County Council is a case in point.”
He continued: “If local authorities are the door to a clean transport future, then charging networks like Connected Kerb are the key, providing the tools and expertise needed to unlock the transition at the pace and scale required to reach net zero. Although the Government’s estimate of 300,000 chargers by 2030 may feel ambitious, it’s eminently possible – and necessary – to achieve; this deal proves it.”
Matt Furniss, Cabinet Member for Transport, Infrastructure and Growth for Surrey County Council, said: “High-quality, reliable, and accessible charging infrastructure is critical to accelerating the uptake of electric vehicles across the county and serving the needs of all our local communities. Surrey County Council has a commitment to be a carbon net zero county by 2050, and a large part of us achieving that comes from supporting residents to make the switch to electric vehicles.”
“Over the last two years, we’ve installed over 100 EV charge points in Surrey, and this has given us the opportunity to trial different suppliers and processes,” said Furniss. “We have an established relationship with Connected Kerb and this contract will enable us to expand our network of charge points and speed up the installation process, to provide services to our residents faster.”
Both partners recognise that they need to deliver quickly in order to generate momentum and harness the imagination of local drivers. As such, they are aiming to commission several hundred new chargers in the project's first year.
One thing we are really happy to report is that Connected Kerb is taking a leading position with its new project, guaranteeing that a minimum of 20% of its new public chargers will be installed with special access for Blue Badge holders. Vital, when there are 2.35 million Blue Badge holders on UK roads.
You can read more about Connected Kerb's policies in this area using this link.
Finally, the company has reported that it maintained a ‘charger network uptime' of more than 99% in 2022. As we all know, ‘Range Anxiety' has been replaced with ‘Destination Anxiety', so we welcome charger organisations releasing data about the likelihood that EV drivers will arrive on-site to find a working connection.
Connected Kerb is on an enormous growth trajectory following a £110 million input from Aviva Investors to deliver 190,000 charge points before 2030 – a massive 63% of the UK government’s 300,000 charge point estimate. As an enabler for central government, local authorities, commercial and residential developers to reach net zero targets, Connected Kerb is on track to dramatically accelerate public charging infrastructure around the UK.
Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP, Minister of State for Decarbonisation and Technology, Department for Transport, told media: “Today’s announcement marks another step in the growth of our public charge point network, enabling more and more motorists to make the switch to electric vehicles.”
“The UK is seeing hundreds of millions of pounds of private investment in EV charging across the country, with valuable support from the Government, and it’s great to see innovative British companies like Connected Kerb working with local authorities to deliver ambitious projects such as this one.”
Thanks to Andy Hughes for making the photos available.