Warning of £1.5bn funding gap to meet electric charging targets

The private sector should and can handle the current funding gap...

Electric car charging firm Liberty Charge has called on the sector to step in and help finance the nationwide rollout of charge points as it warned of a more than £1.5 billion shortfall in government funding.

Liberty Charge – a joint venture between Virgin Media owner Liberty Global and private equity firm Zouk Capital – said the £450 million of government funding earmarked for local charge point installation falls far short of real life costs.

In total, the government has committed to just under £1.5bn in funding, including rapid motorway and transit charge points.

But this is just half of the £3bn the firm estimates it will cost to install the 300,000 public charge points needed to electrify the UK, and it could leave Britain at risk of missing its net-zero goals.

Liberty Charge believes private sector firms are able to stump up the cash to install points across many parts of the UK and is urging the government to redirect its £450m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure fund to where it is needed the most, such as in remote rural areas.

It also said some of the fund should go towards beefing up the £50m set aside for ongoing management and maintenance of electric vehicle networks, which it believes will not be enough.

Neil Isaacson, chief executive of Liberty Charge, said the private sector “should and can handle” the funding gap needed to meet charge point targets.

He added that local authorities need more resources and funding to boost EV infrastructure, given that the UK has set itself the deadline to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

Recent research from the RAC showed that already, soaring energy costs have meant rapid charging an EV has become a fifth more expensive in eight months.

“Without the right size and scale of public charging infrastructure that gives confidence to households that don’t have off-street parking, they just won’t turn to electric vehicles,” Mr Isaacson said.