National Grid is moving ahead with plans for a fleet of superfast charging points for electric vehicles along Britain’s motorways that would feed directly off the electricity transmission network, according to its chief executive. The FTSE 100 company, which operates the country’s high-voltage power grid, is in discussions with several government departments and other stakeholders about the proposal to create a “super highway”, said John Pettigrew. “People are talking about electric vehicles reaching price parity [with conventional cars] in the early to mid-2020s,” Mr Pettigrew said. National Grid, he said, is examining what needs to be done in terms of upgrading the transmission network and the investment needed to support a full-scale rollou t of EVs. Under the company’s proposal, a series of 350kW super chargers would be installed at 50 strategic sites along Britain’s motorway network. These would enable drivers to charge their cars in six to eight minutes and alleviate “range anxiety” about running out of charge. The scheme would require an investment of between £500m and £1bn, which would be spread across stakeholders or could be levied on drivers in the form of a surcharge equating to about 63p per driver. The government is expected to publish its strategy for reducing emissions from road transport soon.
FT 17th May 2018 read more »
