ChargeUK opens up for new members to join

The latest news from the world of EVs

Good morning, I’m Tom Riley and welcome back to The Fast Charge, a British EV newsletter.

The top story in today’s edition… EV charging trade body, ChargeUK, is officially open for business, as the association has started inviting new members to join.

Elsewhere… PoGo launches a new site with big screens and Labour is considering an EV grant.

This is a much shorter edition than usual, though normal service resumes next week with a special feature. As ever, if you have any thoughts or ideas, please do get in touch. My contact details are here or simply reply to this email.

ChargeUK is open for business…

Background: Earlier in May this year, a number of the UK’s EV charging networks came together to officially form ‘ChargeUK’ – a trade association that would be the “voice of EV charging”. While it initially had some 18 founder members, ChargeUK has since added others, such as Tesla. Up until the launch of ChargeUK, most networks were lobbying government through a myriad of routes, and I’m told even the Department for Transport had asked for a simpler way to engage the growing number of businesses.

Next steps: After a full year of proper operation – which has seen a huge amount of EV news, activity, and policy changes – the association has revealed plans to grow its membership. In this past week, the body formally announced it was starting to invite other businesses to join. At present, it’s only been predominantly public charging networks that have been able to get involved, but now it is possible for all companies in the ecosystem (such as charger manufacturers, payment managers, or even consultants) to join.

Why join? Speaking on the opening up, Ian Johnston, the Chair of ChargeUK, said: “ChargeUK has established itself as the voice of the UK charging infrastructure industry in the short time since we launched earlier this year. But there is still so much work to do. We’re inviting all those working in and with this exciting and growing industry to join us to ensure that we are collaborating across industries to deliver the positive rhetoric and to make the UK the best place in the world to drive and charge an electric vehicle.”

Why together? From the beginning, I have been a big believer in ChargeUK. Yes, our networks are not yet perfect, but in just a few years they’ve got significantly bigger and better. That’s because all those involved in this association are ultimately for delivering the best options for consumers. There are some policy areas that I’m sure the body will come to debate more intensely – such as positions around reliability or perhaps VAT, and I will come back to these in a future update – but for the time being, if you want to shape the debate, do get involved. Details here.

---

Latest EV news…

🔌 New EV charging network on the block, PoGo, has recently opened a site in Derby with 200kWh chargers. What makes them interesting is they have 32-inch screens - which is pretty enormous. See pictures here.

💰 The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders warned last week that, without a delay to the incoming tariffs on UK-EU electric car trade, the price for a new vehicle could go up by £3,400. Read more.

🤑 Labour has already revealed that it would u-turn on the Conservative’s pushback of 2030 to 2035, but now it’s rumoured they are also considering bringing back the grant scheme for buyers – up to £1,500 per car. This will no doubt go down very well amongst carmakers, many of whom have been calling for affordability support. However, Shadow Chancellor Reeves is dubious of the cost, which is why the package was kept quiet at the recent Labour conference. Read more (paywall).

💸 Should lamppost chargers be cheaper? A tweet over the week highlighted that Brighton and Hove’s ones cost 60p per kWh, plus a 20p transaction fee. Elsewhere, Char.gy also costs 60p per kWh, but has a night tariff of 39p. Meanwhile, Shell’s lampposts cost up to 79p during the day, and 40p overnight. The feeling is, given they only produce around 5kW, should they be cheaper?

🤹 An interesting long-read in the Financial Times underlines the potential skills gap that might occur if traditional mechanics don’t re-learn for an EV future, which many say will cost too much to do without support. See here (paywall).

📅 A helpful article in the MailOnline outlines when each manufacturer is going all-electric. I’ve not seen one of these posts for a while so a helpful reminder. Nice one Mailykins. See here.

🛠️ A London college has launched a course that will train people on installing EV charge points. The scheme is part of a four-year electrical apprenticeship and is being backed by Shell. Read more.

🔋 Apparently, Toyota is close to being able to mass produce a solid-state battery that has a range of 745 miles, and a charging time of 10 minutes. Naturally, let’s believe it when we see it. But, also, who the hell needs 745 miles in one stint? That’s like driving from Inverness to Penzance – and still having 30 miles spare to get your fish and chips. Absolutely bonkers. Read more.

⚡ When will the Rapid Charging Fund actually open? That’s what The Guardian has asked today, as it has now been three years since it was first revealed - meaning £1 billion remains allocated but unavailable to businesses. Read more.

🏢 Finally, I’m sure everyone is quite fed up with my Arrival updates now but… last week the company updated its official address. It went from a swish office in Kensington to its factory in Banbury. The London office is believed to have closed.

By Tom Riley | Check my Linktree for LinkedIn, Twitter and TikTok