Birmingham City Council has announced a significant expansion of the city’s electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, in collaboration with Ubitricity. The new project aims to install over 500 lamppost EV charging stations across residential areas with limited access to private off-street parking.
A pilot program is underway to deploy 560 lamppost charge points across 82 streets in the city. The installation, made possible through the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS), is expected to cause minimal disruption, with each unit taking less than an hour to install. As of now, 300 charging points have been installed, with the remaining 260 set to be completed by spring 2025.
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Councillor Majid Mahmood, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport at Birmingham City Council, emphasized the importance of the initiative. “While our focus is on delivering the Birmingham Transport Plan and encouraging public transport use, we also want to ensure that, for those who need a car, the infrastructure for low and zero-emission vehicles is in place,” he said.
Stuart Wilson, UK Managing Director of Ubitricity, expressed enthusiasm about the project’s potential. “We are delighted to support Birmingham City Council in creating one of the largest public EV charging networks outside London, fostering the transition to electric vehicles and promoting a cleaner environment,” Wilson stated.
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Ubitricity has already installed 301 charging points between October 15 and December 24, marking a fast-paced rollout attributed to strong collaboration with the council. This expansion comes on the heels of another initiative announced in Birmingham to build DC fast charging infrastructure, alongside the opening of the UK’s largest charging park in 2023, which can accommodate up to 180 EVs charging simultaneously.
