Selected local authorities across England can now apply for the first round of the UK government’s £343m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Capital Fund, it has been announced.
Originally announced in 2022 in the EV Infrastructure Strategy and launched in March 2023, the LEVI fund is designed to ensure the transition to EVs takes place in every part of the UK by supporting the planning and delivery of local chargepoints, especially for those without access to off-street parking.
Local authorities will receive LEVI funding in two groups, with the first able to apply for their allocated funding now, to be distributed this financial year. The second group can apply for their funding next financial year.
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Nick Harvey, senior programme manager for transport at the Energy Saving Trust, which is part of the LEVI Support Body along with PA Consulting and Cenex, said: “The LEVI support body is pleased to be supporting local authorities across England with their local electric vehicle infrastructure applications.
“These projects will deliver at scale the crucial charging infrastructure required in order to support the growing numbers of electric vehicles on our roads and to give people more confidence to go electric – a key part of the transition to net zero.”
READ MORE: UK’s largest public EV charging hub opens at NEC Birmingham
Alongside this, UK Research and Innovation has announced that Innovate UK has awarded £5.8m of funding to 12 projects through the Driving the Electric Revolution Challenge Fund.
Winning projects include work on best practice in automation and robotics to produce EV chargers, and the scale-up of the assembly manufacturing processes for a rare earth-free permanent magnet generator – enabling the production of electric machines without using rare earth elements.
Innovations and achievements in electric vehicles and charging infrastructure will be highlighted and celebrated at the second annual CiTTi Awards on 21 November 2023 at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector – and to book your table today!
