The Mayor of London has urged ministers to ‘up the pace’ on rapid charging infrastructure as he outlines plans for 80 new rapid charging points across London.

The Mayor’s latest EV Infrastructure Strategy has forecast that London will need up to 4,000 rapid charge points by 2030

Transport for London is releasing more land for charge points and is inviting bids from suppliers for two delivery contracts. These include 51 sites in total across North and South London and will deliver 83 charging bays, located on strategic roads to support high-mileage, essential road users such as car and van fleet operators.

It’s the latest move by TfL to widen its charging network; in May 2023, a delivery contract was awarded to Zest, with 39 rapid charging bays expected to be delivered by the end of 2024. All sites are expected to be delivered by the end of 2025.

London currently has 12,800 charge points in London, of which over 900 are rapid or ultra-rapid. This means it offers almost a third of all the charge points in the UK, and the highest volume and share of rapid charge points for any European city.

But the Mayor’s latest EV Infrastructure Strategy, published in December 2021, has forecast that London will need between 40,000 to 60,000 public charge points by 2030. Up to 4,000 of these will need to be rapid.  This will support plans for ensuring all Greater London Authority (GLA) and TfL fleets and estates are decarbonised, helping to achieve net zero by 2030 in London.

The Mayor has also urged Ministers to match his ambition nationally.

Khan commented: “While London is leading the way, we need to see more action nationally to pick up the pace delivering electric vehicle infrastructure. When it comes to making the transition to cleaner vehicles and delivering the benefits of cleaner air, this must be considered an urgent national mission.”

Sadiq made the announcement on a visit to Volta Trucks, which recently launched a trial of its first fully electric heavy goods vehicles.

Essa Al-Saleh, chief executive officer of Volta Trucks, said: “On our mission towards decarbonising urban logistics, Volta Trucks is supportive of the Mayor’s initiatives to improve charging networks. We look forward to continued political support through financial incentives, regulatory certainty and measures to accelerate the transition to electrification of commercial vehicles for businesses and fleet operators.”

Addison Lee welcomed the plans from the Mayor – the private hire giant started its transition to EVs in 2021 and said last year that its rollout had revealed major obstacles in charging access in London, requiring urgent investment.

It’s now opened its own Fleet Hub, fitted out with ultra-rapid chargers, to provide a multipurpose centre for its drivers that tackles the ongoing infrastructure challenges across the capital.

Andrew Wescott, director of sustainability & regulation at Addison Lee, also said there were other obstacles that required urgent action.

“Cost of charging and the inconsistency of prices also presents barriers to EV adoption. Government must work with charging providers to remove the discrepancies in costs between those who can charge at home and those who rely on the charging network, particularly in cities where home charging is not the norm.”

And on-street charging specialist Connected Kerb said that while rapid charging across the capital is important, it is vital to acknowledge that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to EV charging.

CEO Chris Pateman-Jones continued: “Public charging must reach all communities – from those living in blocks of flats to terraced houses – and that’s where on-street charging comes in.

“We are about to witness a step-change in EV charging through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, which will see a huge injection of government funding to local authorities to enable roll-out of on-street charging at scale. Charge point networks, like Connected Kerb, are ready to turn these ambitious plans into real-life solutions that will help millions of households, in London and elsewhere, to make the switch.”