Chancellor Rishi Sunak is planning a £1bn investment in green transport including new rapid car charging hubs which will ensure cars are never more than 30 miles away from a charging hub, reports Zak Jakubowski
The Chancellor is committed to meeting the UK’s net zero goal by investing to reduce emissions across all modes of transport. However, road transport is responsible for 91% of domestic transport greenhouse gas emissions 70 and is one of the biggest contributors to poor air quality in the UK’s towns and cities.
On road emissions, Sunak said: ‘I will invest £500m to support rollout of new rapid charging hubs so drivers are never more than 30 miles away from being able to charge their car.
‘This will include a rapid charging fund to help businesses with the cost of connecting fast charge points to the electricity grid. To target spending from this fund effectively, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles will complete a comprehensive electric vehicle charging infrastructure review.’
Sunak also announced he ‘will more than double research and development investment in the energy investment programme to £1bn’.
‘Invest £300m in tackling nitrogen dioxide emissions.'
The Budget also allocates an additional £304m to enable local authorities to take immediate steps to reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions.
Maria Bengtsson, EY director, said: ‘With the announcement of funds to support the roll out of fast-charging infrastructure, the government seems to have assessed this to be the main barrier to accelerated sales of electric vehicles (EVs).
‘However, more policies are required to drive change of consumer behaviours in the UK, given the net-zero target. The comparative costs of purchasing and running an electric vehicle and a traditional combustion engine needs to be reduced to make the choice of vehicle an environmental rather than financial question.
‘Some industry bodies had been hoping for an announcement in relation to tax reliefs, for example reduced or removed VAT on the sale of new EVs, but this was not to be.
‘£500m was announced to be allocated over the next five years to support the rollout of a fast-charging network for EVs. It is unclear to what extent funds will be available to cover a period of loss making before higher EV penetration will lead to higher utilisation of the charge points, which is a considerable barrier to preventing investment in the sector.’
