Bonnet will offer drivers access to private charge points in remote areas through its app
The Rural Electric Mobility Enabler project led by EDF energy has received funding to help improve charging infrastructure in remote areas
The UK's innovation and research body, Innovate UK, has awarded £335,000 to a joint project that aims to improve public electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in rural areas.
EV charging app Bonnet this week announced it has teamed up with EDF energy, urban innovation company DG Cities, and Devon County Council to work on the Rural Electric Mobility Enabler (REME) project.
The project is set to run over eight months and aims to address the challenges rural communities face accessing EV chargers while helping to improve understanding of the energy supply requirements in rural areas that will result from increased EV usage.
REME will focus on Devon, although DG Cities and EDF will use National Grid data and mapping to identify other regional areas where it may be necessary to accelerate the installation of EV charge points, according to Bonnet.
"Electric charging provision is lacking in rural regions across the country, and we're honoured to be collaborating with these partners to find solutions to these issues," said Patrick Reich, co-founder of Bonnet.
Rebecca Rosling, head of R&D smart customers at EDF, said there was a particular need to improve EV charging coverage in rural areas. "We understand that a switch to EVs can be harder for our customers in rural areas, and that is why we are delighted to be leading the REME project, where we will work with our partners to develop innovative solutions to improve our customer experience," she said.
As part of the project, Bonnet is aiming to make private charge points in rural areas accessible to the public through its app, which locates charge points. Drivers will be able to access and pay for private charge points via the app, which Bonnet said creates financial opportunities for charger owners and increases access to reliable charging infrastructure.
"Our payment and charge point information app can provide access to private charge points for public use across the UK and we already have thousands of public charge points on board," said Reich. "Innovative solutions need to be developed to combat drivers' EV charging anxiety, especially in tourist hotspot regions across the country."
Devon County Council will also contribute data to the project to help understand how seasonal flows of tourists to the region may impact public charging demand. Devon has over 400 EV charging bays provided by the Council, as part of a plan to develop a public charging network across the county over the next year, but the county could see demand for chargers fluctuate during the peak tourist season.
Andrea Davis, Devon County Council's cabinet member for Cliamte Change, Environment and Transport, said: "We know that nine out of ten drivers in the county we surveyed would like to make the transition to EVs over the next few years, so we have to be prepared. A vital part of that is better understanding the challenges of access to EV chargers and the associated energy supply from the grid, which will be caused by this increase in EV usage."
The project follows a report published by the UK100 network of local authorities in October, which warned the UK could fall short of meeting charging infrastructure demand by 250,000 chargers and highlighted a significant regional discrepancy in access to chargers. The UK100 group called on the government to give local authorities greater powers to install EV charging points.
