Liberty Global Ventures and Zouk Capital have announced a joint venture partnership that will roll out on-street residential EV charging points in the UK.
Zouk is the manager of the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (CIIF), established by the UK government in 2019 and backed by HM Treasury to help develop public charging infrastructure points for EVs throughout the UK.
Leveraging Virgin Media’s connectivity network, infrastructure deployment capabilities and relationships with local authorities, the joint venture – originally set up as a small incubation initiative within Liberty Global Ventures last year – will focus on providing the under-the-pavement power and communications infrastructure necessary for EV charging in residential areas.
According to research, more than 40% of urban vehicle owners don’t have access to a driveway they could use to charge an electric vehicle.
The venture will thus look to provide charge point operators and local authorities with ‘plug and play’ on-street charging facilities in large cities and towns where many residents don’t have access to off-street parking.
The partnership, called Liberty Charge, supports Liberty Global’s efforts in this space following on from its Virgin Media Park and Charge (VPACH) project, which aims to deploy 1,200 charging sockets in towns and cities across the country by early 2021.
Neil Isaacson, who has been leading Liberty Charge’s market development activities, has been appointed CEO of the venture.
Massimo Resta, partner at Zouk Capital, said: “CIIF’s central objective is to scale open-access, public EV charging networks for the UK consumer and this is exactly what Liberty Charge will achieve for the thousands of car owners, who do not have access to off street parking.
“Liberty Global’s infrastructure deployment capabilities and Virgin Media’s extensive connectivity network make it perfectly positioned to rapidly deploy on-street residential charging in UK towns and cities, and we are excited to be partnering with them on this opportunity.”
Read more from CiTTi
https://www.cittimagazine.co.uk/funding-boost-for-on-street-residential-ev-charge-points/
https://www.cittimagazine.co.uk/next-phase-of-electric-nation-v2g-trial-begins/
https://www.cittimagazine.co.uk/study-reveals-ev-charging-infrastructure-disparity/
