After it acquired Ubitricity, Shell has announced that it plans to build 50,000 Ubitricity charging stations in the United Kingdom by 2025. The group also wants to cover a portion of the costs.
There are presently 3,600 Ubitricity chargers placed there. According to a corporate announcement, Shell plans to provide local governments with a funding offer to reach the 50,000 milestone by 2025. The goal is to install the Ubitricity On Street Chargers for free in cities around the UK.
However, this does not imply that Shell will pay for all charging points; in reality, Shell will only pay for around a fourth of them. Through the On-Street Residential Charging Scheme, the UK Government's Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles (OZEV) is now covering 75% of the cost of installing on-street chargers (ORCS). "Shell is willing to pay the remaining expenditures following contractual terms for local authorities who want to build Ubitricity charging stations," the oil firm said.
Shell also cites statistics that show that 60% of houses in British cities and metropolitan areas lack their own parking places, forcing them to park and charge on the side of the road. "It's critical to speed up the installation of electric vehicle chargers throughout the UK, and this target and the funding offer should assist," said David Bunch, Shell's UK Country Chair. "We aim to provide easy EV charging for drivers across the UK, whether at home, at work, or on the road, so that more drivers can switch to electric."
Even though the state bears 75% of the costs, Transport Minister Rachel Maclean supports Shell's offer, according to the company's announcement. "As more people switch to electric vehicles, this is a terrific example of how private investment combined with government backing is being leveraged to secure the long-term viability of our EV infrastructure," Maclean said.
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Shell announced its acquisition of Ubitricity in January and closed the transaction in February. The energy behemoth also said in the same month that it planned to increase the number of charging stations from 60,000 to 500,000 by 2050. The objective of 5,000 charging stations for the United Kingdom was announced in April; however, thanks to the Ubitricity offer, that number is substantially greater.
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