UK government eyes £190m motorway grid upgrade scheme
If implemented, the Strategic Charging Infrastructure (SCI) scheme would replace the previous £70m Rapid Charging Fund pilot launched by the Conservative government in December 2023, which concluded without making any financial awards. This was due to motorway service operators refusing to contract with the previous government due to strict grant terms.
Instead, the SCI scheme would see the current government form contracts directly with network connection providers to increase grid capacity – directly funding upgrades to the electricity network itself – then pass this capacity onto charge point operators at a heavily subsidised rate.
If successful, this would remove one of the key barriers slowing down the rollout of ultra-rapid EV charging on English motorways – enabling the deployment of high-power charging infrastructure in locations that currently lack sufficient grid access. This is against the backdrop of a long-term ambition held by multiple governments to increase the number of public EV charging points to 300,000 by 2030.
The Department for Transport has said the scheme is intended to ensure affected motorway service areas have enough electricity capacity by 2030 in order to meet projected EV charging demand up until 2035 and beyond. Funding will only apply to existing motorway service areas in England, excluding major A-road sites. According to Motor Trade News, site selection will focus on areas “where projected electricity demand significantly exceeds grid capacity and where connection costs exceed commercially viable levels”.
In a statement, the Department for Transport said: “There is a minority of MSAs at which the cost of grid capacity to meet demand is still not commercially viable. These high costs at some sites are the principal barrier to achieving a comprehensive network of EV charging across the motorway network.
“The scheme will support the development of a strong open-access EV charging offer across the motorway network by removing electricity upgrade costs as a barrier to EV charging provision at a subset of impacted MSAs in England. Government will do this by strengthening electricity networks to selected MSAs where costs are uncommercial. The resulting network capacity will then be available to industry at a subsidised, commercially viable price.”
The government’s consultation will be open until 28th July 2026 and seeks views from relevant organisations, industry figures, and other stakeholders.
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