BT to convert street cabinets into EV charging units
BT will this month launch its first electric vehicle (EV) charging unit connected to a street cabinet traditionally used for broadband and phone cabling storage, in bid to resolve a dearth in chargepoints in the UK.
The telecoms giant said some 60,000 cabinets could be upgraded to help resolve the ongoing shortage of chargers on UK roads, should the pilot prove a success.
The project is being run by BT Group’s startup and digital incubation arm Etc., with the first charger installed in Scotland over the coming weeks.
It comes amid mounting concern that a lack of EV chargepoints on British roads could hamper demand for greener vehicles ahead of looming net-zero targets.
Automakers are hastening the transition to EVs ahead of a 2035 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sparked furious backlash in September after the government announced it would push back the deadline from a previously agreed date of 2030.
The government has set a goal of increasing the total number of chargers from 53,000 today to 300,000 by 2030.
But motoring organisation the RAC revealed this week it had already missed a target of having at least six rapid or ultra-rapid chargepoints at every motorway service station by the end of 2023. A survey from BT found 60 per cent of people think the UK’s EV charging infrastructure is inadequate, with 78 per cent of petrol and diesel chargers saying it was a barrier to making the switch.
Tom Guy, chief executive of Etc. at BT Group, said: “Our new charging solution is a huge step in bringing EV charging kerbside and exploring how we can address key barriers customers are currently facing.”
“Working closely with local councils in Scotland and more widely across the UK, we are at a critical stage of our journey in tackling a very real customer problem that sits at the heart of our wider purpose to connect for good.”
A DfT spokesperson said: “The number of public chargepoints is rising across the country – increasing by 44 per cent since December 2022.”
“We expect the private sector to deliver the majority of charge points and welcome initiatives such as this, but we’ve also committed hundreds of millions of pounds expand local charging across England, so everyone can switch to cleaner vehicles.”