Written evidence submitted by Trojan Energy Limited (EVS0010)

Introducing Trojan Energy

Based in Aberdeen, Scotland, a city at the heart of the global energy sector, Trojan Energy was formed in 2016 with one mission: to ensure everyone benefits from the energy transition.

We are proud to be at the forefront of technology to revolutionise the electric vehicle (EV) charging experience for drivers without access to off-street parking, unlocking the benefits of the energy transition for all households and providing the necessary infrastructure that will have a measurable impact on climate change and clean air.

Executive summary

Trojan Energy welcomes the opportunity to respond to this timely inquiry into the delivery of public chargepoints for electric vehicles.

This submission will cover an overview of Trojan Energy’s position on the roll out of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) programme – including an overview of geographical disparity for both public charging and at-home infrastructure, as well as consumer data collated by Trojan on sentiment towards EV charging.

As was outlined in the recent National Audit Office (NAO) report [1], there have been some successes associated with the LEVI programme – in that all eligible local authorities have engaged with it and around half of local authorities have developed a local EV charging strategy. The Department for Transport (DfT) forecasts for LEVI are moderately good, with LEVI forecast to support more than 100,000 chargepoints over the next few years.

Despite these positives, there are broader issues with LEVI identified in the NAO report. LEVI has faced delays in implementation, with many local authorities struggling to meet the DfT’s requirements for project plans. As of October 2024, only 10 projects from the first tranche of funding had been approved for delivery, and half of the 26 pilot projects were delayed by at least a year.

This is where an uptick in demand-side incentives and an overall increase in resource would play a considerable role in making the EV infrastructure roll out more effective.

How to move forward with the LEVI scheme

The LEVI scheme has had a positive impact but there are notable gaps to be filled. Alongside the recommendations in the NAO report on the LEVI programme, there are a few areas that could be amended to increase the rollout of charging infrastructure across the country.

The first issue to address is making the LEVI scheme more implementable for local authorities. In this, the government should prioritise reducing administrative complexity and providing sustained support, including expanding the scope of the scheme. Sustained funding for capacity-building programmes is essential, allowing authorities to retain skilled staff who can manage projects effectively. Additionally, regional support teams could offer practical, hands-on guidance to authorities with limited expertise, while enhanced knowledge-sharing platforms would enable local councils to learn from successful projects. Addressing challenges like lengthy planning permissions and electricity grid delays through simplified regulations and better coordination with regulators would remove key barriers in this area. Making these changes would then accelerate the rollout of public chargepoints across the country.

If funding for the LEVI scheme increases and its capacity is expanded, consumers will have greater confidence to invest in their own charging provision, installed to their home, because they will also be able to rely on readily available local charging infrastructure. This will also help to solve the geographical disparities outlined in the NAO report. These issues are demonstrated in both public charging rollout and the proportion of drivers who have access to off-street parking.

The EV transition jigsaw: the on-street off-street and geographical disparity

A critical and sizeable piece in the EV transition jigsaw includes the circa 8 million households who do not have a driveway and cannot readily access or install an EV chargepoint outside their home.[2] According to the most recent Zapmap data [3], London has the most successful public charging roll out with over 20,000 chargers installed – which is important given 40% of households do not have driveways [4] and will be reliant on public charging points.

In other parts of the country, consumers cannot as comfortably switch to EVs as the proportion of housing stock without driveways is high and public charging provision is lagging. For instance, the North East of England is the second lowest in the UK for number of public chargepoints – and this unfortunately aligns with the region’s number of households without driveways which is around 35%.

Alongside this, there is a considerable difference in the cost of public charging and at home charging. Those able to charge a car from their home can use specific electric car night-time tariffs, which can be as low as 7p/kWh. In contrast, public chargers cost 50p-75p/kWh, a higher cost-per-mile than petrol. Adding to the disparity is the 20% VAT charged for this, while home charging has a 5% rate.

This creates a perfect storm preventing consumers living in specific parts of the country from being able to comfortably make the transition to EVs.

There is clear demand for on-street and public EV charging solutions – which can be delivered by schemes like the LEVI fund in conjunction with technology like Trojan Energy’s Aon.

Aon: Trojan’s EV charging ecosystem for driveway-less households

Trojan has developed a unique consumer-led proposition whereby a single flat-and flush chargepoint (accessed via a lance) can be located in the street outside a property with no driveway – but is powered using that property’s domestic electricity supply, leaving no residual street clutter when not in use.

A new circuit is taken from the customer’s consumer unit just as it would be if the chargepoint was located on a driveway. The key advantages that this solution has over a gully or pavement channel, is that the chargepoint remains shareable and that the hardware does not impede further utility works on the pavement. The householder pays their domestic electricity rate only but can pay a different rate for their neighbours to use if they wish.

Aon will enable those who have to park on-street to have the same access to home charging, the same access to domestic rate electricity, and the same opportunities to take part in future domestic flexibility markets.

Case Study: Trojan’s “DOORStep” Project

Innovate UK has supported Trojan in funding the “DOORStep” Project, which trialled a number of Aon units in the London Borough of Brent and the County of Oxfordshire. The first commercial Aon installation took place in Neasden, Brent. The chargepoint was activated in early April 2023, at the home of a private-hire vehicle (PHV) driver, who works for one of the largest private hire firms operating in London.

The PHV driver drives over 40,000 miles a year, and public charging costs at his local rapid charger were over £8k per year at the time of installation. The Aon subscription of £99 per month (at the time, now £50 per month after significant cost-down activity), coupled with the prevailing capped domestic electricity rate at the time, meant that £3600 of annual savings arose straight away. If half of that electricity could be moved into an overnight cheap rate, savings would reach over £4400 per year.

Consumer preferences for home charging

Recent polling commissioned by Trojan Energy reinforces a lot of the issues identified above, including consumer preferences for home charging solutions. A significant 68% of car owners perceive the cost of installing an EV chargepoint as a major obstacle to purchasing an EV, with only one in five having an accurate understanding of installation costs. Misconceptions are widespread, as 30% overestimate the cost to exceed £1,000, while 25% admit they do not know the actual price.

Clear consumer demand exists for accessible and affordable home or on-street charging solutions, with 62% of residents in households without driveways expecting to charge their EV at or near their home. This issue is particularly pronounced among younger generations, as 70% of Generation Z and 59% Millennials — two thirds of the UK workforce — express a willingness to purchase an EV if home charging was available. Almost half (46%) are open to paying upfront for home charging solutions to avoid the higher costs of public charging, though 23% remain unsure.

Government support is seen as crucial to addressing these barriers, with 68% of respondents calling for initiatives such as upfront grants or VAT relief to lower installation costs and facilitate the EV transition. The inability to charge an EV at home ranks as a top three barrier to adoption, particularly in areas with higher population density and fewer households without driveways. In London, for instance, 54% of participants indicated they would be more likely to purchase an EV within the next 18 months if on-street charging outside their homes were available.

These findings underline the importance of affordable, accessible, and convenient home charging infrastructure in accelerating the UK's EV transition.

Trojan Energy’s policy asks

Trojan is calling for a reduction in the premium on innovative technology through the delivery of fiscal support and demand-side incentive mechanisms to unlock consumer investment in on-street charging infrastructure for those without driveways. This will help with the rollout of charging infrastructure in the North and rural areas that are shown to be insufficiently equipped to deal with the EV transition. This, alongside a more streamlined LEVI scheme, would help with the roll out of public charging provision more broadly.

Consumers who are harder to reach, such as those without access to a driveway, require enhanced fiscal incentives to support the installation of their own EV charging infrastructure. This would help create a more equitable system, ensuring greater parity between households with and without driveways in terms of access to charging solutions and in turn, ensure the transition to EVs across the country leaves no one behind.

January 2025

[1] Public chargepoints for electric vehicles, National Audit Office, 2024 (link)

[2] Field Dynamics (2020) On-street households: The next EV challenge and opportunity (link)