The Scottish National Investment Bank is aiming to help tackle the lack of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in Scotland with a £2 million investment.
This funding is to go to EV charging firm Forev, with the intention of supporting its ambitions of creating a network of over 1,700 EV chargepoints at public sites across Scotland.
The company is focusing on public destination chargepoints, with the investment to allow it to continue with phase one of its rollout. This will see Forev begin to scale its charging network, with what it said is a robust pipeline of locations already in place.
This comes after Transport Scotland and Scottish Futures Trust highlighted the need for changes to the current ChargePlace Scotland network in a new report released last week.
Over 1,800 chargepoints have been installed as part of the ChargePlace Scotland network, which the government has invested £45 million in. However, the report said that should this continue, it would be at an even greater cost to the public purse. Additionally, the continued offer of tariff free access could discourage other potential sources of investment.
The report added that supporting mass market growth in EVs in Scotland will require a major expansion in public charging.
“Forev’s rollout strategy has the potential to have a significant positive impact on the uptake of electric vehicles in Scotland, specifically by providing more charging options for EV drivers who do not have the ability to charge at home and drivers on the move,” Eilidh Mactaggart, CEO of the Scottish National Investment Bank, said.
The £2 billion Scottish National Investment Bank was launched in 2020 with a focus on supporting net zero, harnessing innovation and extending equality of opportunity through improving places.
