Photo: EVgo
The largest hurdle in the way of massive EV adoption has to do with the vehicles' range, one way or another. Either it is too limited, the charging times are too long or the infrastructure simply isn't there.
The first two are being addressed by the car manufacturers themselves, and even though Tesla dipped its toes into the latter as well by building the Supercharger network, most people would expect the governments to do something about it. Especially since they seem to throw EV purchase incentives left and right.
The high costs of building a new infrastructure have often been quoted, but the more clear-headed persons always had an answer to that. They said that cars already stop at gas stations to refuel; gas stations have access to the power grid; therefore, why not have a few (at first) charging stations at every gas station?
It made perfect sense, which is why some have already started doing it - Tesla working together with QuickCheck and Shell doing it on its own. However, it seems that the United Kingdom is going to take things one step further and make this mandatory by law.
The announcement was part of the Queen's Speech, the Sun informs us, and is aimed at making the UK a "world leader in new industries." The bill also addresses the issue of autonomous technology, which the government plans to support, even though through which particular means isn't clear at the moment.
Motorway service areas and major fuel retailers are going to be required by law to install fast-charging stations, which will hopefully enable long-distance traveling for all EV owners, much like Tesla's Supercharger network did for its clients, particularly in the US.
The UK Government also pledged a £600 million ($756 million) fund for the support and development of ultra-low emissions market, but what exactly that will come to remains to be seen. The main idea here is that the United Kingdom seems determined to steal Norway's crown as the most EV-friendly country in Europe, and we wouldn't be surprised if the competition warmed up from other nations as well over the next years.
The high costs of building a new infrastructure have often been quoted, but the more clear-headed persons always had an answer to that. They said that cars already stop at gas stations to refuel; gas stations have access to the power grid; therefore, why not have a few (at first) charging stations at every gas station?
It made perfect sense, which is why some have already started doing it - Tesla working together with QuickCheck and Shell doing it on its own. However, it seems that the United Kingdom is going to take things one step further and make this mandatory by law.
The announcement was part of the Queen's Speech, the Sun informs us, and is aimed at making the UK a "world leader in new industries." The bill also addresses the issue of autonomous technology, which the government plans to support, even though through which particular means isn't clear at the moment.
Motorway service areas and major fuel retailers are going to be required by law to install fast-charging stations, which will hopefully enable long-distance traveling for all EV owners, much like Tesla's Supercharger network did for its clients, particularly in the US.
The UK Government also pledged a £600 million ($756 million) fund for the support and development of ultra-low emissions market, but what exactly that will come to remains to be seen. The main idea here is that the United Kingdom seems determined to steal Norway's crown as the most EV-friendly country in Europe, and we wouldn't be surprised if the competition warmed up from other nations as well over the next years.
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