New project will deliver affordable EV infrastructure

A new project will deliver affordable and accessible EV infrastructure to hard-to-reach communities. 

Electric vehicle (EV) charging specialist, Connected Kerb, is working with Kent County Council to deliver affordable and accessible EV infrastructure.

In the project’s first phase, Connected Kerb is installing 40 charging units across 20 Kent Parish sites.

All income from the chargers will then go back into the local community or will be used to support the rollout and maintenance of more chargers.

The distribution of EV charge points across the UK is massively varied, for example over 30% of the UK’s public charging network is located in London, equivalent to 63 chargers per 100,000 people.

This compares to areas like Kent or Essex which have just 3.7 chargers per 100,000.

According to the UK Government, access to convenient charge points is essential to ensuring communities do not become isolated, either because they become unreachable for other EV motorists, or because they themselves are unable to utilise new EV technology.

Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, said: ‘Access to charging infrastructure is one of the biggest barriers to the uptake of EVs. Although demand for chargers is higher in dense urban areas, the lack of infrastructure in out-of-town communities leaves people concerned about switching to EVs.

‘It is vital that access to public charging is equitable across the entire country and we bring an end to the EV charging postcode lottery.

‘Nobody should be left behind by the EV revolution because of where they live. Our partnership with Kent County Council shows that the economics of installing EV charging in non-urban areas is much more favourable than many believe. This is a recipe for success for local authorities across the UK.’

Tim Middleton, transport innovations programme manager, at Kent County Council, added: ‘Providing adequate electric vehicle charge-points across the county is a key part of our strategic plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

‘This partnership offers a fantastic opportunity for Kent businesses, residents and visitors to have equal access to electric vehicle charging infrastructure – not only is this crucial as we move closer to the 2030 ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars, but it means that Kent can play its part in the transition to decarbonisation.’

Photo Credit – Pixabay