Britain is investing in an EV charging start-up aimed at installing charging points in communal parking.
Energy Park will receive £35 million from the government’s Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund in a bid to improve the UK’s plug-in network.
Half of the cash in the government’s £420 million fund was sourced from the treasury, while the other half was put up by investors such as Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), the Church Commissioners of England and Abu Dhabi’s state renewable energy company Masdar.
Zouk Capital is the fund’s manager.
Prior to Energy Park’s investment, the fund had typically focused on installing charging points in driveways, car parks and service stations.
Energy Park is focused on developing charging points in communal car parks in apartment buildings and is also considering targeting holiday parks and hotel parking lots.
Gavin Malone, founder of Energy Park, said: “The demand for affordable EV charge points at apartment buildings and residential destinations is increasing rapidly and with Zouk’s funding we can grow quickly to become a leading provider of tailored EV charging solutions for more residential landlords.”
Back in February, research by Which? found Britain’s charging network for electric vehicles (EVs) was “not fit for purpose”.
Widespread dissatisfaction was identified among EV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicle owners, with 69% of drivers complaining about the current charging network.