A major new investment fund has opened in the UK to promote the country’s electric vehicle recharging infrastructure.

The £400 million (€463m) Charging Infrastructure Fund (CIIF) is a 50:50 public-private partnership tasked with delivering strong commercial returns as well as supporting the uptake of zero emission motoring.

3,000 new rapid chargers

The fund aims to finance 3,000 new public rapid charge points by 2024, more than doubling the number of rapid chargers in the UK, which currently stands at 2,000.

Government Transport Secretary Grant Shapps MP, said: “I want to see thousands more chargepoints installed across the UK. This fund will help drum up further investment in charging infrastructure from the private sector, so charging an electric car becomes as easy as plugging in a smart phone.”

First private sector investor

The first private investor is United Arab Emirates renewables company Masdar, which has ploughed £35m (€40m) into theCIIF. The UK government has matched the investment with a further £35m (€40m).

Masdar has already invested in offshore wind farms as well as next generation clean technologies.

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer, Masdar, said the CIIF is: “a commercial investment in a promising sector, with an estimated US$300 billion earmarked for the manufacture of electric vehicles and batteries globally over the next five to 10 years. With electric mobility becoming both more affordable and acceptable to consumers, accessible public charging infrastructure is a necessity if electric vehicles are to achieve large-scale penetration of the car market, and we are eager to support the UK’s bold vision.”

Road to zero emissions

Samer Salty, Managing Partner of Zouk Capital which is managing the CIIF, said the fund’s partnership with Masdar, the UK Government and the Infrastructure Projects Authority is: “Accelerating the build out of charging points throughout the UK to provide a solid network for EV drivers and to make significant steps toward the UK Government’s Net Zero 2050 objectives.”

The Government has set conditions that any investments in chargers made by the CIIF should be:

open to the public

offer ease of payment

provide pricing transparency

and deliver good reliability and maintenance.

Fleet prospects

However, CIIF can invest in rapid chargers for fleet charging companies so long as the chargers are open to the public outside the times when they are needed by the fleet. Likewise, fast chargers for car clubs could also receive CIIF investment.