ChargeUK, which describes itself as the voice of the UK's EV charging industry, published a white paper titled "Powering Ahead to 2030" on 15 July 2024, setting out the state of the charging network and what it says is needed to keep deployment on track1. The analysis was carried out with New AutoMotive, an independent transport research organisation1.
The paper reports that there are over 930,000 public, home and work chargers in the UK supporting 1.1 million fully electric vehicles, which it describes as almost one charger for every EV1. It states that the network can deliver nearly seven gigawatts of power every day, enough for every UK EV to drive 580 miles a day, more than 25 times the average daily journey of 21 miles, or a total of over 500 million miles1. Charge point numbers have more than doubled in the past two years, with a new public charge point installed every 25 minutes in the last quarter, and public charge point availability is now rising faster than the number of new EVs coming onto the market1.
On the 2030 projection, the paper says that if this growth rate continues the UK will reach in excess of 300,000 public chargers by 2030, "as confirmed by the National Infrastructure Commission report published in May 2024"1. The National Infrastructure Commission report itself is not reproduced in the material, so its own figures and methodology have not been reported here.
Vicky Read, chief executive of ChargeUK, said:
"In little more than a decade, the UK's charging sector has grown to become a major player in the green economy, providing the infrastructure that more than a million EV drivers rely on today and scaling fast to deliver the charging needed through to 2030 and beyond."
The paper lists three areas where it says government action is needed: removing grid, planning and permitting delays and including renewable electricity in the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation; equalising VAT on charging, encouraging lower cost electricity, improving signage and supporting drivers to access EVs; and maximising private investment by clarifying the Rapid Charging Fund, speeding up the Local EV Infrastructure Fund, addressing increases in standing charges and developing HGV charging provision1.
Why it matters for households
For a household weighing up an electric car, the practical question is whether charging away from home is available where and when it is needed. The figures here cover home, work and public charge points together, so the near one-to-one ratio between chargers and EVs is a national total rather than a measure of what is on a particular street1. The claim that public charge point availability is rising faster than EV numbers is the part that speaks to congestion at public sites1.
For a home's energy independence, the relevant point is that most charging is expected to happen at home or at work, where a driver controls when the car draws power. The paper's power figure, nearly seven gigawatts a day across the network, is a measure of what the installed infrastructure could deliver in total, not of what any one home can draw1. Nothing in the material sets out how home charging costs compare with public charging, beyond the call to equalise VAT on charging1.
What happens next
The paper sets out asks of the government rather than dated commitments, and no timetable for the Rapid Charging Fund, the Local EV Infrastructure Fund or any change to VAT on charging is given1. ChargeUK says it will continue to press for the measures in its manifesto1.