Monday 23 July 2018

UK seeks bids for management of £400m EV charging fund

The UK is inviting bids for the management of a £400 million fund that will support the installation of charging points for electric vehicles (EVs) across the country.

The Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, announced during last year’s Budget, will enable access to finance for the roll-out of charge points, making it easier and more viable for the public to switch to cleaner vehicles.

The fund is made up of £200 million of government investment and £200 million to be matched by the private sector.

The Treasury has published the Request for Proposals, which sets out the requirements and the necessary information for fund managers to submit a bid.

The successful fund manager will be appointed to raise and manage the investment fund on behalf of the Treasury.

The announcement follows the recent launch of the ‘Road to Zero Strategy’, which sets out plans to have at least have of all new cars to be ultra-low emission by 2030 and zero-emission by 2040.

Robert Jenrick, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury said: “We want the UK to be a world leader when it comes to the number of electric cars on our roads. Uptake is increasing and we want the opportunity to own an electric vehicle to be available to all.

“But crucial to encouraging the take-up of these cars across the country is increasing people’s access to charging points. We want to scale up at pace and ensure interoperability for ease of use.”

The government recently announced two competitions worth £40 million to develop and demonstrate new ways of charging EVs and Ofgem today set out reforms to harness the benefits of EVs.