Virgin Media owner to plug in 1,200 EV charging points

Liberty Media will transform existing Virgin Media street cabinets and ducts across 600 streets and connect them to its digital network

The owner of Virgin Media has unveiled plans to install and operate around 1,200 charging points for electric vehicles (EVs) over the next 18 months.

Liberty Media will transform existing Virgin Media street cabinets and ducts and connect them to its digital network.

Loughborough University has joined the project, as part of a 19-strong consortium, which will help the telecommunications giant identify the best sites to install the charging points.

The team will look at where EVs are most popular, the types of households that don’t have access to off-street car parking and the presence of existing infrastructure, following which it will analyse the data to determine how environmental conditions and local context impact residents’ car choices.

The 600 streets that will be identified will fall within Belfast, Croydon, Hammersmith and Fulham, Liverpool, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Southend on Sea, Wandsworth, the West Midlands and Worcestershire.

Other partners in the project include Vattenfall, SMS plc, Cenex, Ginger Town and Connected Kerb.

Jason Simpson, Vice President Global Energy and Utilities for Liberty Global, said: “Leveraging street cabinets allows Liberty Global to look beyond traditional uses of telecom infrastructure and make a positive impact on the environment and in communities throughout the UK.

“By bringing more electric vehicle chargers and associated connectivity to Britain’s streets, we are making a significant contribution to Innovate UK’s ambition to encourage more people to buy electric cars. We’re excited to be working with a wide array of partners who each bring their own areas of expertise to this exciting and innovative project.”

The project has been created in partnership with Innovate UK, the UK government’s research and innovation department, to help local authorities find a solution to limited on-street EV charging points and  encourage more people to switch to EVs.

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