ELECTRIC vehicle (EV) charging points are set to become more widespread in public places.
In an effort to accelerate the development of a national vehicle charging network across the UK, Zest is aiming to address a gap in current provision.
Rather than specialising in home charging points or establishing them along driving routes, the start-up is focussing on adding them to parking areas.
Image by A. Krebs from Pixabay
Helping to remove financial barriers for landowners, Zest will provide planning, installation and ongoing maintenance for chargers on land managed, for example, by local authorities or parking operators.
Whilst the broad ambition is to add them to places that drivers use for parking, the strategy is focussed particularly on spaces where people stay for over 30 minutes.
These include regular parking places for shopping, leisure or work.
As use of EVs increases, it is anticipated that by 2030 up to half a million public charging points will needed.
Building on the 30,000 presently available, Zest is set to help meet this target and make EV ownership a realistic possibility for everyone.
Robin Heap, CEO of Zest said: “Our commercial proposition is a proven successful solution for landowners who want to cate for the increasing numbers of EV drivers visiting their properties.
“Zest removes the major worries for site hosts, such as significant capital outlay, unpredictable utilisation rates, and having to operate and maintain the hardware and software systems.”
Zouk Capital has backed an initial £30m investment to launch Zest, from part of the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund.
Massimo Resta, Partner at Zouk Capital, said: “The idea is to provide a way to charge EVs without disrupting people’s routines, and at the same time making it easy for landowners to join the EV revolution.
“Electricity is everywhere and Zest’s mission is to make EV charging accessible, convenient and stress free as possible.”
Matthew Vickertstaff, of the Infrastructure and Project Authority added that the “UK is leading the way when it comes to transforming our infrastructure” and that this investment in Zest “demonstrates the progress made by the Government and the private sector in bringing reliable and sustainable solutions for everyone”.
 charging points will become more widespread in public places, thanks to newly formed start-up company Zest.){kind=link}