BT Group has announced its decision to convert traditional green cabinets, which are usually used to store phone and broadband cabling, into electric vehicle charging points. The company aims to convert 60,000 cabinets nationwide to help address the current shortfall in electric car chargers. The government hopes to increase the number of charging points from 50,000 to 300,000 by 2030, but almost a third of all UK charging points are currently located in London. The first converted cabinet is set to be installed in East Lothian as part of a pilot programme, with further trials due to roll out across the UK.
Old cabinets still providing broadband and those that are decommissioned will be used to support the new EV charging points. As the boxes become decommissioned, additional charging points can be added, with each green cabinet providing two charging sockets. The cabinets also come with a battery backup so that existing broadband services should not be disrupted during installation. Engineers can retrofit the cabinets with a device that enables renewable energy to be shared to a charge point alongside the existing broadband service with no need to create a new connection as they are already linked to a power source.
According to Tom Guy, the CEO of Etc., the digital incubation and start-up arm of BT Group, this solution represents a “huge step” in addressing the barriers that customers face. The initiative will be piloted in East Lothian before further pilots are rolled out across the UK. This innovative solution has received an innovation award for outstanding design and engineering at the Consumer Electronics Show. Stuart Masson, from The Car Expert, has welcomed the initiative stating that “harnessing existing street furniture is a great way to increase the number of public EV charging points without further adding to clutter along our footpaths.”
Currently, electric vehicle drivers have complained about the lack of charging points, especially those living in smaller towns and villages across the UK. BS has therefore stepped in with this pilot project to help tackle this issue, which is holding back the country’s electric car revolution
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