The UK government has launched a consultation on a new £190m scheme to subsidise electricity grid upgrades at English motorway service areas (MSAs), aiming to eliminate the high connection costs holding back ultra-rapid electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The proposed scheme – officially named the Strategic Charging Infrastructure (SCI) scheme – replaces the previous £70m Rapid Charging Fund (RCF) pilot launched under the previous administration in December 2023. That pilot concluded without making any financial awards after motorway service operators refused to contract directly with the government under the strict grant terms required.

Under the newly designed model, the Government will bypass direct operator grants by contracting directly with network connection providers to build grid capacity, which will then be passed to charging firms at a heavily subsidised, commercially viable rate.

Domestic transport accounts for 30% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions, making rapid EV adoption crucial to meeting the nation’s 2050 net-zero targets and the 2035 zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate. However, ‘range anxiety’ remains a massive hurdle, with 72% of drivers citing a lack of long-journey charging options as a core barrier to buying an EV.

There are currently 116 MSAs in England, which perform a vital safety function by providing opportunities for drivers to stop and take a break during their journey and refuel/charge if needed. To remain both fit for purpose and safe for motorists, these sites need a strong EV charging offer. This requires there to be sufficient electricity network capacity at MSAs.

EV charging at MSAs has grown over the last few years – and this growth will need to continue as the number of EVs on the road increases.

While industry-led upgrades and on-site battery storage have successfully boosted capacity at many of England’s MSAs, there is a minority of MSAs at which the cost of grid capacity to meet demand is still not commercially viable. These high costs at some sites are the principal barrier to achieving a comprehensive network of EV charging across the motorway network.

The scheme will support the development of a strong open-access EV charging offer across the motorway network by removing electricity upgrade costs as a barrier to EV charging provision at a subset of impacted MSAs in England.

The scheme aims to address the barrier of a lack of affordable electricity network capacity at some MSAs. It will do this by ensuring that by 2030, any MSAs where government intervenes will have enough electricity network capacity to meet projected EV driver demand until at least 2035 and that this capacity will be available to industry at an affordable price.

The scheme will only strengthen the electricity network capacity at a subset of MSAs. The Department for Transport says evidence suggests that there are many MSAs at which electricity network capacity is more affordable and there is less need for intervention. The scheme will focus on sites where securing required capacity is not commercially viable for industry, as well as taking into consideration other factors set out in the site selection process.

The project will strengthen network capacity to existing, already operational MSAs only. There is very limited scope to move large, well-established sites to locations with affordable grid capacity. This challenge is exacerbated by the limited entry and exit points on motorways, which narrow the options for locating rest areas.

The number of sites that the scheme targets will also be constrained by the scheme budget. An indicative allocation of £190m has been made for the scheme. This is part of the £400m to support EV charging infrastructure that was announced as part of the Spending Review 2025, which covered funding for 2026 to 2030.

The scheme will deliver electricity upgrades to meet projected EV charging demand at selected sites to at least 2035 and potentially up to 2050 in high-priority locations. This will balance the benefits of strengthening electricity networks to a larger number of sites, with the benefits of a longer future-proofing horizon, where it is appropriate.

The capacity will be strictly locked for ‘open-access’ charging infrastructure, ensuring any station built under the scheme can be used by any EV model, regardless of the manufacturer.

The consultation on the plans is open until 11:59pm on 28 July 2026. Full details are here.