LAMP-POST CHARGING
One major benefit is the infrastructure is already largely in place
The popularity of this solution is revealed in the rise of lamp-post charger convertor Ubitricity, which now has the highest share of public chargers in the UK, at 28%, according to Zap-Map. The 5.5kW chargers aren’t quick (an 85kWh battery would take around 15 hours to fill), but fitting them to lamp-posts or bollards is a neat solution to avoid more street clutter. Ubitricity owner Shell plans to install 50,000 charging posts by the end of 2025, up from 3600 now. Other solutions are faster; for example, Rolec’s purpose-built Streetcharge EV street lamp has a 7.2kW charger embedded. Another clutter-free alternative is to install pop-up kerbside chargers, such as those operated by UK company Urban Electric. The downside of lamp-post chargers is their wide spacing means the adjacent parking spots can quickly become occupied on a busy street (including by ICE cars), forcing you to look elsewhere.