£10m Competition to Develop Ultra Rapid EV Charging on England’s Strategic Roads

The government has launched a competition to support projects that address operational and grid challenges for ultra-rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging on England’s Strategic Road Network (SRN), including motorways and major A-roads.

The programme aims to develop and demonstrate innovative solutions at grid-constrained or hard-to-power sites, such as Motorway Service Areas (MSAs) and All Purpose Trunk Road (APTR) cold spots, where installation costs and timescales are high. Projects may integrate renewable energy sources, including solar, with energy storage systems to reduce reliance on grid upgrades.

Eligible projects must provide access for at least 12 EVs at a charging rate of 150kW or more, and may consider charging needs for electric heavy goods vehicles or coaches. Solutions should test whole-system approaches in real-world settings and address power availability, energy resilience, demand management, and cost reduction for consumers.

Up to £10 million is available for industrial research and experimental development projects, with individual grants ranging from £500,000 to £3 million.

Applications are open to UK-registered businesses of any size, which may form consortia including at least one UK-registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise. Partners may include academic institutions, public sector bodies, charities, not-for-profits, research and technology organisations, and sector stakeholders from transport, energy, IT and infrastructure.

Projects may incorporate distributed energy generation, private networks, grid boosting, storage and management systems, monitoring solutions or demand response tools to address SRN grid constraints.