Creative new ways to charge electric vehicles: apply for funding
Businesses can apply for up to £40 million for projects that look at creating public areas to charge electric cars or wireless charging for commercial vehicles.
£40 million is available across 2 competitions to support electric vehicle owners without off-street parking to charge their vehicles and for the wireless charging of commercial vehicles.
There is up to £40 million for UK businesses to develop and demonstrate new ways of charging electric vehicles. The funding comes from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles and Innovate UK, which is part of UK Research and Innovation.
Growing the infrastructure to support uptake
UK government wants nearly all cars and vans to be zero emission by 2050. A major challenge will be to grow the UK’s charging infrastructure quickly enough to make electric vehicles an attractive choice.
The funding is split across 2 competitions. These are:
- to support electric vehicle owners who don’t have suitable off-street parking to charge their vehicles in public spaces
- to investigate wireless charging options for owners of vehicles such as taxis, service vehicles and delivery vans
Electric vehicle charging for public spaces
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.
There are 2 phases. It will fund a series of feasibility studies in a first phase. The best ideas could go on to receive further funding for large-scale demonstration projects in public areas.
Competition information
- 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% of their project costs
Wireless electric charging
The second competition focuses on new technologies that would allow commercial vehicles - such as taxis, service vehicles and delivery fleets - to top up their batteries during the day without having to stop to plug in.
Projects should look at commercially-feasible ideas and business models that would enable vehicles to be charged while causing minimum disruption to their business.
They could aim to show how wireless charging could be used by taxis in places such as stations and airports, or with commercial vehicles at major depots, hubs or delivery bays.
It will fund a series of feasibility studies in a first phase. The second phase will fund the best ideas for large-scale infrastructure and demonstration projects on publicly or privately-owned roads and transportation or logistics hubs.
Competition information
- 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 £3 million and £9 million and last up to 18 months
- businesses could attract up to 70% of their project costs