Coventry and Warwickshire has a competitive advantage in race to net zero, says report
Coventry and Warwickshire has a competitive advantage over other areas after pioneering a range of innovative electrification infrastructure projects to help the Government meet its net zero targets, according to a new report.
Electrification infrastructure is under the spotlight in this month’s SmartRegion report which contains findings from research and engagements contributed to by the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub, Coventry City Council, Warwickshire County Council and other local and national business support organisations.
Coventry now has the UK’s most intensive electric vehicle charging point infrastructure in the UK outside of London, as well as advancing towards becoming the UK’s first all-electric bus city.
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The city has 958 charging points with another 450 set to be added by April 2024 which will provide 2,160 available charging spaces for electric vehicles.
Coventry is planning for a fully-electric public transport system through a combination of Very Light Rail, electric buses and taxis.
There are now 44 fast chargers at a range of Coventry City Council’s properties and the Plug-in Coventry project has been launched to support charging point installation at business premises.
Warwickshire County Council has installed 79 charging points among a total of 383 devices available throughout the county, and is developing a charging hub at Harbury with an additional 22 sockets and additional solar PV and battery storage.
Moto's Rugby motorway services at Junction 1 of the M6 (pictured) was the company's first new site in 14 years and features 24 ultra-rapid electric vehicle charging points, making it then the largest electric vehicle charging service station on the UK’s motorway network.
Jaguar Land Rover has installed the UK’s largest smart charging facility for electric vehicles at its engineering centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire. In total, the company installed 166 charging points for electric and plug-in vehicles in the car-park, driven in part by research showing that 40 percent of electric car charging happens at the workplace.
A pilot project is underway to provide charging infrastructure in lamp post columns and Warwickshire County Council is engaging with private developers to match and support electrification infrastructure at new housing developments.
Warwickshire County Council has also submitted projects worth £3 million to the Government’s Local Electric Vehicles Infrastructure fund to roll out infrastructure and develop capacity.
Craig Humphrey, CEO of the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub, said the varied electrification infrastructure projects underway reinforced Coventry and Warwickshire’s reputation for innovation particularly in the automotive and future mobility sector.
He said: “There is significant momentum to support the implementation of infrastructure for electric vehicles in Coventry and Warwickshire which is giving our area a competitive advantage over other parts of the UK.
“Electrifying Coventry and Warwickshire is involving a combination of Government funding and private sector investment to boost economic growth and job opportunities while expanding electric vehicle charging infrastructure throughout our area.
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“The UK has shown steady growth in the number of charging devices, but Coventry stands out with a remarkable surge in delivery of the infrastructure.
“The challenge in Warwickshire is to provide access to electric vehicle charging in rural areas of the county, and even distribution for the future as diesel and petrol vehicles are phased out.
“All of these innovative and pro-active projects show the positive steps that are being taken in our area to help the UK meet its net zero targets and improve our air quality.”
