Connected Kerb, an electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure provider, has announced it has secured funding of up to £110m from Aviva Investors, the asset management branch of Aviva plc, to accelerate residential charging by installing 190,000 on-street EV chargers by 2030.
Part of the partnership includes Connected Kerb’s provision of EV chargepoints across Aviva’s European sites.
Connected Kerb claims this investment will be critical to meeting UK government targets to deliver more than 300,000 EV chargers by 2030, and equals approximately 25% of the money committed to the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund for local authority on-street EV initiatives.
Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, said: “Our partnership with Aviva Investors will turn EV charging on its head.
“Successfully delivering the benefits of the EV transition to all – regardless of location, wealth, or circumstance – relies entirely on the UK’s ability to deploy convenient and reliable public charging at scale.
“For many, it has so far been neither.
“This investment combines the proven long-term reliability of Connected Kerb’s infrastructure with the financial resources and expertise of Aviva Investors to deploy charging, at scale, to all corners of the UK, giving individuals and businesses the confidence to make the switch to electric, and dramatically reduce carbon emissions and air pollution – it’s truly game-changing.”
In the UK, EV ownership is growing quickly; this year, EVs have reportedly accounted for all new vehicle registrations, which is a 50% increase compared to this time last year, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
However, research conducted by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for the UK government shows there is just one publicly accessible on-street EV charger for every 52 EVs on UK roads.
Consequently, those without access to off-street parking or a parking space with a domestic power supply – accounting for 62% of drivers, finds the government’s English Housing Survey – face further challenges when trying to switch to EVs.
The EV chargepoint provider claims it will have installed more than 4,000 chargers by the end of 2022, with plans to expand into the US.
