British consortium pledges support to accelerate transport electrification
A new report released by the Electric Vehicle Fleet Accelerator (EVFA) consortium provides recommendations on how Britain can accelerate its electrification of the transport system for a decarbonised economy.
The release of the EV Fleet Accelerator Report 2021 report follows the formation of the EVFA by some seven British companies with a business presence within the country’s electric vehicles and related infrastructure markets. EVFA members include bp, BT, Direct Line Group, Royal Mail, ScottishPower, Severn Trent and Tesco.
The report highlights four areas in need of urgent action to enable Britain to address barriers hindering the growth of the smart mobility industry and they include:
- Future-proofing the electricity network infrastructure: Ensuring that price controls and funding measures reflect the scale of the challenge, the need to invest in the network ahead of need, and support levelling up with investment in areas the market doesn’t reach.
- Enabling the UK-wide rollout of charging infrastructure: Fast-tracking EV charging infrastructure in the planning system, aligning with local authorities to unlock land for charging infrastructure, and setting clear funding frameworks.
- Overcoming demand obstacles: Increasing capital support for grid reinforcement costs, introducing minimum standards for reliability, safety and interoperability, and improving access to public charging networks.
- Expanding the supply of UK-made vehicles: Providing strong demand signals to OEMs from fleets, setting increasing requirements for zero-emissions vehicles for manufacturers, and incentivising second hand EV market with VAT exemption.
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EVFA, which aims to help Britain to achieve sustainability goals set under Boris Johnson’s Build Back Better Business Council, states that adopting the four recommendations could help the British government to unlock private sector investment of £50 billion ($69.5 billion) in infrastructure and in electric fleets in the UK over the next five years.
Adopting the recommendations would also help accelerate the conversion of business vehicle fleets across Britain with EVFA members pledging to convert their fleets to electric models by 2030 and buy 70,000 British-made vans by 2030. The electrification of companies’ vehicle fleets will play a key role in the decarbonisation of Britain’s transport sector with fleets and businesses accounting for 60% of new vehicle registrations, according to EVFA.
Commenting on the formation of EVFA and release of the report, Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem CEO, said: “The rapid take up of electric vehicles will be vital if Britain is to hit its climate change targets. We are already accelerating investment in the energy networks that support a step change in charge points. We are reducing costs for installing new charging stations and building a market that will make sure that cars can charge at the cheapest possible time.
“We look forward to ongoing work with government, businesses – including members of the EV Fleet Accelerator – and the energy networks to ensure we have the energy system we need to support the electric vehicle revolution.”
