BT Group converts first street cabinets into charging stations
BT subsidiary Etc is carrying out the first such installation in East Lothian, Scotland, and further pilot projects throughout the UK will launch in the coming months. Last July, the BT Group announced that it was considering pilot projects to upcycle distribution boxes – now the first sites are being implemented.
The pilot projects will explore the potential of converting up to 60,000 cabinets “to help meet government sustainability targets and decarbonise the transport system in the UK”, according to the announcement. Specifically, they will look at “how this solution could be scaled to address the lack of chargers on UK roads.”
The cabinets are retrofitted with a charging station using “a device that enables renewable energy to be shared to a charge point alongside the existing broadband service with no need to create a new power connection.” Distribution boxes due to be decommissioned or used for broadband services with copper cables (which will soon be replaced by fibre optic technology) are considered for retrofitting.
However, the pilot projects are not just about testing the technology itself and how the charging points are accepted and used by customers. They will also look at planning issues (siting, council involvement, permitting and physical accessibility), commercial issues (public funding options, private investment, partnerships and other financial models), and Etc’s operational work as an independent BT Group company and potential partnerships.
“Our new charging solution is a huge step in bringing EV charging kerbside and exploring how we can address key barriers customers are currently facing,” says Tom Guy, Managing Director of Etc. “Working closely with local councils in Scotland and more widely across the UK, we are at a critical stage of our journey in tackling a very real customer problem that sits at the heart of our wider purpose to connect for good.”
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