The tech incubation unit of BT Group BT has announced the conversion of traditional broadband street cabinets into electric vehicle (EV) charging points.
What Happened: According to a press release on Monday, Etc., the digital innovation arm of BT Group will be converting the first broadband cabinet in East Lothian, Scotland, into an EV charging unit.
The initiative, designed to capitalize on existing street infrastructure to address the paucity of charging points in the U.K., will undergo technical trials across 60,000 cabinets.
The goal is to address the shortage of public EV charging points in the U.K., with only 53,000 units currently available, despite a third of the population expressing interest in EVs if charging were more convenient.
The first trials will be conducted in East Lothian, with future pilots scheduled to roll out across the U.K. in the upcoming months.
The U.K. Government aims to increase the number of charging points from the existing 53,000 to 300,000 by 2030. However, BT Group’s recent research shows inadequate charging infrastructure is a significant deterrent for 60% of potential EV buyers.
The project will examine various technical, commercial, and operational aspects, including cabinet location, power availability, customer accessibility, and civil planning. The initiative was also recognized at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) with an Innovation Honoree award for 2024.
Why It Matters: The U.K.’s EV production has been on a rapid rise, with November 2023 EV production accounting for about 38% of the country’s total vehicle output. The UK’s total EV output for 2023 stood at a record 322,577, up 53.7% from the same period in 2022.
Additionally, the U.K. government has pledged financial support of over $6 million for advanced charging technologies, including vehicle-to-everything systems, aiming to turn EVs into alternative power sources in December 2023.
Image: Shutterstock/ Smile Fight
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