London’s electric vehicle revolution was given a boost on Thursday by plans for 100 new ultra-rapid charging points, according to The Optimist.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said City Hall and Transport for London would issue land near the capital’s Red Route main road network to increase the “on the go” chargers for business and emergency vehicles and taxis.
He was due to speak at the Evening Standard’s first Plug It In summit on Thursday afternoon, bringing experts, innovators, and policymakers together to lead the conversation on driving the capital’s EV switch and develop a global “electric city” blueprint.
Notably, London leads the UK in its provision of public charging points, with one in every four EVs registered in the capital.
London’s charging points
11,028 out of the 34,637 charging points in the UK are in London, including 820 fast or ultra-fast chargers, with up to a 200-mile top-up charge in 20 to 30 minutes.
However, while London has the biggest number of chargers per head, it is only the 8th best of the UK regions or nations for fast (or faster) chargers, with a 9.1 rate per a hundred thousand people.
Khan, who promised to deliver a “net zero” city by 2030, said London was ahead of other European cities on fast chargers – and promised to deliver more.
Contracts to install the first 25 ultra-fast charging points will be announced next week, and 75 more to follow by the end of April. The goal is to have all 100 operational by the end of next year.
“I’m in no doubt that the shift to electric vehicles is imperative to cleaning up our air and bringing down harmful emissions,” said Khan.
“As a city, we’ve travelled an impressive distance in a relatively short period of time in terms of rolling out the necessary infrastructure and encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles. But the gravity of the threats we face from the climate crisis and toxic air pollution demand that we now redouble our efforts and go even further, even faster.”
“It’s vital we don’t take our foot off the pedal now and lose momentum. Freeing up public land to deliver more charging points, and charging hubs, will be crucial to hitting and, hopefully, exceeding this target.”
40,000 to 60,000 charging points by 2030
By 2030, Khan aims to have 40,000 to 60,000 charging points, with about one in 10 being fast chargers. Building this network is expected to open 4,500 jobs.
The number of London’s public chargers in London, typically in lampposts, car parks, or on the street, has increased by 40% in a year.
Westminster is the borough with the most charging points (1,494), while Bexley and Harrow have the least, each with 46.
Speakers at the Plug It In 2022
Other speakers at the Design Museum event included Jonathan Goodman, Andrew Brem, designer Paul Priestman, head of Polestar UK, the UK general manager of Uber, and Christina Calderato, director of the transport strategy at TfL.
In addition, Khan plans to go electric when he next upgrades his car and wants to make it “easier and more convenient for Londoners” to shift.
He sees EVs as a key mode of transport for journeys that can’t be cycled, walked, or made by public transport. However, he also wants to reduce all car traffic by 28% by the decade’s end.
He added that London should be “proud” of how much was achieved in going electric.
“One of the things that is wonderful about our city is the transformation in the last few years in relation to more electric vehicles and the increase in sales and the increase in the [charging] grid,” said Khan.
“But we can’t stand still. We need more electric vehicle charging points. We need more rapid charging points.”
“Manufacturers having the confidence of knowing there is a market for this will mean the price coming down. That’s why it is really important we lobby the Government to give us more support but London is leading the way.”
