Innovative EV charging projects receive funding

Twelve projects are set to receive a share of government funding to support innovative electric vehicle charging ideas.

Consultancy Urban Foresight has been awarded over £3 million to roll out ‘pop-up’ chargers which are built into the pavement and provide a discreet, safe and low-cost charging solution for electric vehicle drivers without access to off-street parking.

Further projects to receive funding include a renovation project, installing chargepoints in car parks to allow for mass charging at night.

Another project will leverage existing Virgin Media physical and online infrastructure to deliver cost-effective and widespread charging, using high speed internet connections to better share information online on charging progress and parking spaces, has also received funding.

A storage and advanced electronics project has received funding to deliver semi-rapid charging using a low power grid connection minimising the need for costly substation upgrades.

Char.gy, an electric charging company, has been awarded over £2.3 million and will use the funding to develop deploy wireless charging technology on residential streets without the need for trailing cables and additional infrastructure.

Initial three month feasibility studies have been completed and successful projects are moving onto the next stage of development.

Richard Stobart, CEO of Char.gy, said: "Our consortium is delighted to be funded by Innovate UK to demonstrate induction charging on residential streets in Milton Keynes, the London Borough of Redbridge and Buckinghamshire County. Working in collaboration with the Open University and The University of Warwick’s WMG we are excited to show that our ability to retrofit to existing electric vehicles and enable several parking bays per lamp column without the need for cables will accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles.

Keith Johnston, co-founder of Urban Electric, said: "On behalf of the ‘Clean Streets’ consortium we are delighted to be a winner in the Innovate UK Electric Vehicle Charging For Public Spaces competition. Together with our partners Urban Foresight, Co-wheels, Duku and Appy parking we look forward to demonstrating Urban Electric’s pop-up charging hubs in Dundee and Plymouth and to bringing residential on-street charging for the 50% of people that park on-street at night in cities one step closer to reality."