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Insights

Insights

| 1 minute read

Delayed: EV Rapid Charging Fund

The EV rapid charging fund which was promised in March 2020 was announced as a means to support expensive upgrades to the grid at motorway service stations to allow more rapid charge points to be deployed and enable more electric vehicles to be charged simultaneously. Yet, here we are approaching November 2023 and the £1bn funding pot is still not open for business.

There is an argument that this public money could be better placed elsewhere as many rapid charge point operators are already well financed through global energy companies, infra funds and other financial institutions. 

Fair enough. But there's a counter argument that in order to give confidence to an already doubting general public, and if we seriously want to continue to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles at pace, we've got to act and act faster. 

Because let's be honest, the 3+ year delay in making a decision is no good for anyone and the fluffy reasoning for the delay just doesn't sit right with me. 

Many charge point operators may not need funding which is great but what I do know is, they're always on the lookout for suitable sites for EV charging and typically these sought after sites are the more commercially viable with access to good power. Would it not therefore make more sense to get the fund going so network operators can take advantage of these locations with the added benefit of funding the grid upgrades?  

Give them the tools and they will deliver. Build it and they will come and all that…

At Hyperion Executive Search, we work with leading cleantech companies and talented individuals who are driving forward the energy and mobility transitions. The type who get things done, at pace and at scale unlike the UK Government. Our expertise is multi-disciplinary spanning finance, commercial, operations, strategy and technical and having recruited at the CxO, Executive and Senior Leadership level in more than 15 countries we have a global track record delivering exceptional talent for our clients. To learn more about our experience and how we can help your business to reach its growth objectives, please get in touch - stephen.robinson@hyperionsearch.com 

 

“It’s very disappointing that the rapid charging fund is still not open for business,” said Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, a motoring group. He warned the government was also on track to break a pledge to have six high-powered chargers at every motorway service area in England by the end of 2023.

Tags

evcharging, investment, cleantech, emobility, grid