New electric vehicle (EV) owners in Milton Keynes could receive a smart charge point for free.

Electric Nation is providing the charging infrastructure as part of a trial project to gather data and feedback from up to 700 participants, with the eventual goal of working out how local electricity grids can cope with increased demand from EVs.

The town is part of the Go Ultra-Low City Scheme and has received £9 million in funding to showcase what can be done to encourage the increased uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles.

It has a high level of EV ownership, which is noticeably helping to improve local air quality.

Keith McLean, former Mayor of Milton Keynes, was one of the first participants of the scheme.

He said: “I’m delighted to be able to help with the Electric Nation research project, which aims to ensure that the UK’s local electricity networks can continue to charge the ever growing numbers of EVs.

“This 7KW smart charger is one of the latest, most intelligent on the market and can provide useful data on your charging history, as well as being able to charge an EV up to twice as fast as a 3KW home charge point.”

Electric Nation is a Western Power Distribution and Network Innovation Allowance funded project.

A fund of £2.5 million is being made available to install on-street EV charging points in residential areas.