Pay-as-you-go electric vehicle charge points unveiled

Bank-secure electric vehicle charge points are approved for roll-out by government’s Plugged in Places (PIP) programme

A Lincolnshire-based electric vehicle (EV) charging designer and manufacturer has launched a range of pay-as-you-go charging stations.

Rolec EV has developed the stations known as AutoCharge: PAYG, charging facilities suitable for a wide range of applications and locations including on-street, public and private car parking. They also use bank-secure chip and pin.

Rolec EV will roll out the AutoCharge: PAYG at the Isle of Wight’s Eco Island project

It is hoped that the system will help encourage a greater uptake of electric vehicles, which are considered by some as a possible long-term successor to diesel and petrol passenger vehicles, as they produce zero emissions at the tailpipe, thereby causing a smaller impact on air quality.

The stations have now received a stamp of approval by the government’s Plugged in Places (PIP) programme as fully compliant and ready to install across the UK after undergoing full testing and inspection procedures. The machine is also eligible for grant funding.

Rolec EV’s business development manager Bianca Alsop said: “We have been working extensively on the technical and operational procedures of the AutoCharge: PAYG chip & pin systems with our partners Barclaycard and Ingenico and we believe that we have now introduced the perfect PAYG EV charging solution, that fits with EV drivers’ everyday needs as well as our corporate mission and company slogan, “EV Charging : Open to Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day”.

Rolec EV has said it developed the contactless pay to charge solution after EV drivers were forced to subscribe to expensive regional EV charging membership schemes. The AutoCharge : PAYG will be rolled out at the Eco Island project on the Isle of Wight and railway station car parks after that.

Around 4,000 EV chargepoints have already been installed through eight PIP projects, of which about 65% are publically accessible. Funded by the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), the £30 million programme was set up to support the early market for electric vehicles and provide a charging infrastructure for the UK.

It is thought non-PIP local authorities and private sector organisations may have installed some 5,000 charge points on top of this.

The unveiling of the technology follows a raft of measures to promote EV use, with the government announcing a £37 million support package for LEV charge points earlier this year (see airqualitynews story).

The Department for Transport (DfT) funding was awarded to 76 local authorities, train station operators, NHS Trusts and academic organisations in hundreds of locations across the UK. Bids for the second round of funding will be received before October 30 this year (see airqualitynews story).