Government to spend £400 million on electric car charging network

The UK government will spend half a billion pounds on new green technology, including £400 million to develop rapid charging infrastructure for EVs.

The money is part of the Strategic Priorities Fund, which supports important research and development projects. 

The first £70 million will go towards the creation of 3,000 new electric car rapid charge points, doubling the number available in the UK. 

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A review is underway to explore the distribution of charge points across the road network. The government also hopes charge times could be cut by half. For a typical electric car, 40 minutes could thus turn to 20 minutes – just time for a coffee.

“We are driving ahead with plans to make travel greener while backing British innovation and technology,” said exchequer secretary Simon Clarke.

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“Britain already boasts one of the biggest networks of charging infrastructure in Europe and soon we will have the fastest thanks to this investment.

“This is the latest in our proud record on climate change –having slashed emissions by over 40 percent since 1990, whilst simultaneously growing our economy, and setting an ambitious target for net zero emissions by 2050.”

In addition to the £400 million for charging infrastructure, £31.5 million is being put into technologies that remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.