Analysis to determine the optimal UK rapid charging network for electric vehicles

The CCC's recommendations on the level of the first five carbon budgets are based on a set of scenarios demonstrating how the CCC's trajectories of emissions reductions can be achieved in each sector of the economy, through deployment of technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The CCC has a statutory duty to advise the Government on the most cost-effective path to decarbonisation, taking account of the range of criteria in the Climate Change Act.

The UK is legally bound by the Climate Change Act to reduce its emissions by at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. In some sectors of the economy, such as agriculture and industry, it is more challenging and costly to reduce emissions than in others, such as power. Some sectors, including transport, must reduce emissions by up to 90% to achieve an economy-wide 80% reduction. This implies that in the road transport sector the car, van, bus and HGV fleets would need to be almost entirely zero or ultra-low carbon by 2050.

For its advice on the Fifth Carbon Budget period (2028-2032), the CCC developed a central scenario (the Medium Abatement scenario) for road transport emissions. This scenario is designed to be consistent with the objective of delivering car, van, bus and HGV fleets that are almost entirely zero or ultra-low carbon by 2050.

Ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) are vehicles with zero or near-zero tailpipe emissions which make use of electricity from an increasingly decarbonised power sector. Two types of ULEV are plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) or battery electric vehicles (BEVs), collectively referred to as electric vehicles (EVs). PHEVs have both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. They can be recharged using a plug or refuelled using petrol or diesel. BEVs only use electric motors and derive all power from battery packs, which are recharged using a plug.

A survey of public attitudes towards electric vehicles by DfT in 2016 identified recharging as the most important factor deterring people from buying an electric car or van. 45% of driving license holders surveyed reported charging as a deterring factor. These license holders listed concerns about the availability of charging points, including lack of charging points in their area and lack of knowledge of where charging points are.

Currently available electric vehicle chargers can broadly be classified in 3 main categories: Slow chargers, Fast chargers and Rapid chargers. The naming scheme is indicative of the amount of time it would take each type of charger to charge a vehicle, with rapid chargers delivering the most power in the shortest available time. Cheaper slow chargers tend to be installed in places where cars are likely to be parked for long periods (i.e. home or workplace). Rapid chargers are significantly more expensive, but offer a valuable decrease in charging time, making driving long distances a practical option. Not all electric vehicles currently on the market can charge us