Help at hand to roll out EV charging

Local authorities can roll out an EV charging infrastructure in their area without accessing public finds through the operator Liberty Charge.

The company, which has been operational for a year, has already installed EV charging infrastructure across West and North Northamptonshire and six London boroughs. Perran Moon, Chief Marketing Officer at Liberty Charge, who is also a Labour Councillor, said the proposition on offer was unique. The company is 50 per cent owned by Liberty Global, which also owns Virgin Media UK who are Liberty Charge’s delivery partner, giving it access to millions of cables throughout the UK.

We require no public money to roll out EV infrastructure, we are entirely privately funded. Whilst we can help local authorities apply for and get Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding, we don’t need it. Our model is based on charge point optimisation and ensuring the right chargers are installed in the right locations. It is simply not in our interest to just roll out any infrastructure, we are thinking about what the local authority needs, now and in the future.

Liberty Charge works with local authorities to determine where charge points will be placed, using proprietary data created with Loughborough University which overlays millions of datapoints across a map of the UK. As a resident proposition, the company installs all speeds of charge point from lamp posts to rapids and places itself in mid-range for pricing. Local authorities can also be reassured the network will be maintained and upgraded, as Liberty Charge’s model relies on convenient and working infrastructure.

Liberty Charge has been involved with the creation of the EV Infrastructure Hub – a free resource local authorities can use to understand the process from defining their EV strategy through to maintenance.

I would encourage local authorities to go to the EV Infrastructure Hub, identify where they are in their journey and use the tool to guide them through the process. If they are knowledgeable, it oils the wheels of the whole industry. We know as an industry we are falling behind where we need to be on on-street EV infrastructure by 2030, when the Government will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles. A big part of it is funding but we don’t need that so there is no reason why any local authority working with Liberty Charge can’t accelerate their EV infrastructure at scale and at pace, whenever they are ready.

• Visit the EV Infrastructure Hub: https://evinfrastructurehub.org/

• Find out more about Liberty Charge: www.libertycharge.com