Firms invited to develop wireless or off-street charging

OLEV and Innovate have released £40 million for projects that look at creating public areas to charge electric cars or wireless charging for commercial vehicles.

Funding will go towards projects that support electric vehicle owners who don’t have suitable off-street parking to charge their vehicles in public spaces, as well as ways to investigate wireless charging options for owners of vehicles such as taxis, service vehicles and delivery vans.

This first competition is looking for creative new designs and technologies that could offer significant, convenient and low-cost charging facilities to areas where people don’t have off-street parking.

Ideas could range from providing on-street infrastructure to creating a community charging hub.

The money will fund a series of feasibility studies in a first phase and the best ideas could go on to receive further funding for large-scale demonstration projects in public areas.

The competition is open, and the deadline for applications is at midday on 29 August 2018

Projects must be led by a business working with other businesses, local authorities, research organisations or charities.

Phase 1 feasibility studies should have costs of between £75,000 and £120,000 and last up to 3 months.

Phase 2 demonstrator projects should have costs of between £5 million and £10 million and last up to 18 months.

Businesses could attract up to 70 per cent of their project costs.