10,000 new electric vehicle chargers coming to Surrey by 2030

Surrey County Council and charge point provider Connected Kerb will install around 10,000 chargers as part of efforts to ramp up EV infrastructure by 2030.

At present, there is one charger per 9,000 residents in Surrey, but the rollout will see this figure dramatically increase.

The project is expected to cost up to £60m and will see over 5,000 fast charging points installed by 2027, including over 500 rapid charging points across the county.

The rollout in Surrey will consist of chargers produced by Connected Kerb including 7kW and 22kW ‘Gecko’ chargers, ‘Chameleon’ chargers for on-street and car parks and wall-mounted ‘Limpet’ and ‘Scarab’ chargers throughout housing developments.

A recent ‘Net Zero Review’ published by the government highlighted the opportunity for local authorities to take a leading role in the rollout of charging infrastructure.

There are currently fewer than 39,000 public charge points in the whole of the UK. A study from 2021 found that the installation of chargers needs to increase by five times the current rate if the plan to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 is to be achieved.

Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, said: “If one local authority can deliver such a significant boost to the UK’s charging network, just imagine what we could achieve by 2030 if every city, county, and combined authority was empowered to do the same.

“The recent Net Zero Review was clear: local authorities can become the driving force behind the rollout of charging infrastructure across the country and our partnership with Surrey County Council is case and point.

“If local authorities are the door to a clean transport future, then charging networks like Connected Kerb are the key, providing the tools and expertise needed to unlock the transition at the pace and scale required to reach net zero. Although the government’s estimate of 300,000 chargers by 2030 may feel ambitious, it’s eminently possible – and necessary – to achieve. This deal proves it.”

More than one-fifth of new cars sold in the UK last year had a plug and recent figures showed that the number of EVs produced in the UK rose by almost 50 per cent.

Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP, Minister of State for Decarbonisation and Technology, Department for Transport, said: “Today’s announcement marks another step in the growth of our public charge point network, enabling more and more motorists to make the switch to electric vehicles.

“The UK is seeing hundreds of millions of pounds of private investment in EV charging across the country, with valuable support from the government, and it’s great to see innovative British companies like Connected Kerb working with local authorities to deliver ambitious projects such as this one”.

Connected Kerb has previously collaborated with the London Borough of Lambeth to build 22 on-street EV chargers across 11 council estates in the borough, providing easy access to public charging for people living in social housing, even for those without off-street parking.

The firm has also been active in New York City, after it was selected by the Department of Transportation and Newlab to deliver on-street EV charging as part of a flagship charging pilot project, ‘The DOT Studio’, across the city. Around 50 per cent of New Yorkers park their cars on the street, so access to a public charging network will be crucial in driving uptake of EVs. In January this year, Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, announced that his administration had bought 900 EVs for its municipal fleet, including electric cars, vans, pick-up trucks and plug-in hybrid street sweepers.