14 December 2010
The East of England is all set to lead the UK’s development and take-up of electric vehicles after a major funding bid was given the green light today by the Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond.
Competing against stiff competition from other regions and cities, the East of England’s EValu8 project – to install a major network of electric charging points across the region – won £3 million of funding through the Government’s Plugged in Places initiative. Projects in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Greater Manchester, and the Midlands were also given the go-ahead by Government today.
With over £7 million now in place from partners including the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and other private and public sector organisations committed to match-funding plug-in points, work on installing the network of 1,200 smart recharging points is scheduled to start in Spring next year.
Retail outlets, public car parks, railways stations, local businesses and residential streets have already been identified as prime locations for plug-in points to be installed across the East of England, particularly focussed in hot-spots in and around Bedford, Luton, Cambridge, Ipswich, Norwich, Peterborough, Hertfordshire, Thames Gateway South Essex and London Stansted Airport.
EValu8 will link-up with existing projects to provide an integrated network of plug-in points stretching all the way from London to the north Norfolk coast, and from Milton Keynes to Felixstowe. By the end of 2013, all local businesses and residents in the East of England will be no more than 25 miles away from a recharging post.
Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond, said:
”The EValu8 project in the East of England is an essential component in the UK’s roll-out of electric vehicle recharging points, providing people and businesses with the confidence to purchase electric vehicles for everyday journeys both within cities, between cities and for commuting.”
“Commercial electric vehicles are becoming a regular feature on our roads, with a wide and growing range of makes and models available from a number of different manufacturers. The East of England presented a strong and compelling bid for funding and is a region capable of leading the development of electric vehicle technologies of the future.”
Deborah Cadman, chief executive of EEDA – which developed the East of England project in partnership with the University of Hertfordshire and Future Transport Systems (FTS) – said:
”What makes the East of England’s EValu8 project stand out is our unrivalled potential to use this network as a test bed for cutting-edge new technologies. The global market for electric vehicles is growing rapidly. And here, in the East of England, we have a world-renowned innovative business community with the expertise to capitalise on the opportunities by developing the next generation of electric vehicles, components and services. Evalu8 will be the catalyst to this development and will ultimately help to accelerate the revolution in consumer culture and the take-up in electric vehicles.”
Keith Bevis, director of Evalu8 Transport Innovation Ltd – the company set-up by the University of Hertfordshire to lead delivery of EValu8 – said:
“Evalu8 has enjoyed enormous support and commitment from over 100 public and private sector organisations, including all eleven of the East of England’s local transport authorities and big industry names including Vauxhall Motors, Ford, Lotus, Ricardo, BT, UK Power Networks, BAE Systems, London Stansted Airport, Ecotricity, BRE, Millbrook Proving Ground and Visteon; plus the commitment and technology resource from FTS.
“With our own strengths as a leading entrepreneurial University and our expertise in travel planning and electric vehicle technology, we are keen to capitalise on this support. It is a great opportunity to innovate with these organisations and a host of smaller companies in the East of England to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in the region and reduce our long term oil dependency and carbon footprint.”
Vicky Ford, MEP for the East of England, delivered the region’s bid to Westminster in October and paid tribute today to the strength of the public-private sector partnership:
”The East of England is crying out for infrastructure investment, so this is a welcome contribution. The businesses and universities around the East of England are involved in cutting edge research and development of next generation cars - but all too often our bright ideas end up being produced and used overseas. A network of charging points will enable early adopters to try out new vehicles and ensure we are not left behind.”
To find out more about EValu8, the East of England’s Plugged in Places project, including a full list of partners supporting the project, visit www.eastofengland.uk.com/business
Notes to editors:
For further press information
Nick Benham, EEDA Press Office, tel: 01223 231206, email: nickbenham@eeda.org.uk
About EValu8 Transport Innovations Ltd
Registered in October 2010, EValu8 Transport Innovations Ltd is a company set up by the University of Hertfordshire specifically to deliver the EValu8 project, due to the impending abolition of EEDA.
The company will oversee the installation of the innovation network and 600 plug-in posts across the East of England, the majority of which will be double recharging points. The posts will located in and around the eight key clusters of Bedford (75 posts), Cambridge (84 posts), Ipswich (63 posts), Norwich (84 posts), Peterborough (75 posts), Luton and Hertfordshire (105 posts) and Thames Gateway South Essex (114 posts).
To find out more visit: www.eastofengland.uk.com/business
Email: EValu8@futuretransportsystems.co.uk
For further press information:
Siobhan O’Neill, Media & PR Officer, University of Hertfordshire, T: 01707 28 4022
E: s.mcneill@herts.ac.uk
About EEDA
EEDA has a clear mission - to improve the economy of the East of England.
So whether it’s helping businesses through the recession, supporting people to be the best they can or breathing new life into places, everything we do comes back to our mission statement.
EEDA works across the six counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and unitary authorities of Central Bedfordshire, Bedford, Luton, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.
Our investment decisions have a track record of delivering considerable returns. A recent independent report found that for every £1 EEDA spent, we generated a mid-point return of £4.75 for the region's economy.
Visit www.eeda.org.uk to find out more.
About University of Hertfordshire
The University of Hertfordshire was awarded ‘Entrepreneurial University of the Year 2010’ by the Times Higher Education.
The University is the UK’s leading business-facing University and an exemplar in the sector. It is innovative and enterprising and challenges individuals and organisations to excel. The University of Hertfordshire is one of the region’s largest employers with over 2,600 staff and a turnover of almost £235 million. With a student community of over 27,500 including more than 2,000 international students from over eighty five different countries, the University has a global network of over 200,000 alumni. For more information, please visit www.herts.ac.uk
The School of Engineering and Technology has substantial research and consultancy interests in automotive technologies, alternative energy and its management including SMART meters. The Centre for Sustainable Communities works in partnerships to deliver joined-up thinking in planning, transport and energy. EValu8 Transport Innovations Ltd brings together access to these areas of expertise.
For more information, please visit www.herts.ac.uk please contact Siobhan McNeill, Media & PR Officer, University of Hertfordshire Press Office on 01707 28 4022, Email: s.mcneill@herts.ac.uk
About Future Transport Systems
Future Transport Systems is an independent consultancy focusing on the integration of low carbon vehicles and infrastructure technologies, systems and stakeholder groups. The team of industry experts provides technical and strategic leadership in planning and implementing turn key solutions. FTS has first hand experience of managing complex ultra low carbon vehicle trials in parallel with developing the supporting infrastructure.
Future Transport Systems is developing fully integrated electric vehicle recharging projects across Europe, including providing technical leadership for the East of England Plugged in Places bid, EValu8.
Future Transport Systems has its technical office at the Hethel Engineering Centre near Norwich and is run by Ian McDonald, who has developed the EValu8 bid together with EEDA and the University of Hertfordshire. Future Transport System’s head office is located in Newcastle.
For more information about Future Transport Systems please visit www.futuretransportsystems.co.uk or email info@futuretransportsystems.co.uk. For more information phone 01953 859 129 or visit Ian McDonald at the FTS office - Hethel Engineering Centre, Hethel, Norwich, NR14 8FB.