UK rolls out Motorway with network of EV charging points

By Chris Cook - Jul 29, 2011

The automobile industry has found itself in a bit of a transitional stage as of late, which has left both manufacturers and consumers with a little dilemma. The future of cars seems most definitely to be going down the electric route, which is great as they are much cleaner for the environment and also use a renewable energy resource meaning resources that will inevitably run out are avoided.

The dilemma which is occurring is manufacturers are reluctant to invest in producing electric vehicles as consumers are reluctant to buy them. As The Charging Point explains, this is because there is a distinct lack of car charging points, as putting these points in cost the government a lot of money and if there isn’t enough cars that use them there’s no point installing them; it’s a cycle that needs to be overcome in order for things to progress.

The way which this must be overcome is for part of the cycle to take a risk and we have news that the UK government has done exactly that, as they have invested in a motorway to include a car charging network of points that offer EV drivers an open road to break free of the city. The world’s first national motorway dedicated to EV drivers. What’s more important is these points are actually free of charge, an incentive perhaps to encourage more drivers to invest in EVs.

The firm fronting this new charging network is green energy company Ecotricity, a company that plays a vital role when it comes to providing renewable energy as they supply a large percentage of it such as wind turbines. They have launched 12 Welcome Break service stations each free of charge and 17 more are being promised before the end of the year. As the EVs have a short battery life in comparison to how long a vehicle can go with normal fuel, long journeys have in the past been impractical, this is not the case anymore thanks to the new network.

Though this news is exciting and seems very practical, the notion of being able to travel the length and breadth of Britain in an EV is still one that can only be imagined. A journey from London to Scotland for example would mean a driver would face refueling up to 7 times due to the capacity of current EV batteries. That’s not to say that things aren’t improving and maybe a journey like that would become far easier in the not too distant future.

What do you think of the motorway for EV drivers? Will the incentive have the desired effect and get more drivers investing in EVs?

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus.
