BT Group is powering up the first in what could be a network of tens of thousands of electric vehicle (EV) kerbside charge points repurposed from green street cabinets.

The first charger, which will go live before the end of the month, will form part of a trial that the telecom giant hopes could overcome barriers to EV adoption, particularly where off-road parking is not available to drivers.

It is estimated that about 40% of households do not have access to off-street parking or are in rental accommodation so are not able to charge their EV at home.  

With the potential to upgrade up to 60,000 of BT Group’s 90,000 cabinets, it could also help boost the country’s existing network of 53,000 charge points.

The pilot is being managed by Bt Group's digital start-up company, Etc. Its CEO, Tom Guy, believes that this new charging network will be a “huge step” for the development of EV kerbside charging, and address some of the key barriers to wider EV adoption.

“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,” he said. “This is a key step in our mission to build products and services right now that work for the future, with positive transformation at the heart.” 

The 7.4kW charger in East Lothian, which will be the first to go live, has two connectors and will initially be used by BT Group and Openreach EV drivers, before being opened to the wider public.

The pilot is expected to be the first of approximately 600 which will be rolled out over the next 18 months by Etc.

BT Group, which first revealed plans to use the street cabinets as potential EV chargers in July 2023, had originally planned to launch the first pilot in Northern Ireland last autumn.

The trial in Belfast is now expected be up and running in the next few months.

Jessica Kyte, senior product director at Etc, told Fleet News that the trials are expected to last for two years, enabling Etc to consider a range of different technical, commercial and operational options to bring the new EV charge point network online.

“After that period, we expect to have a much clearer view on that viability and what the future looks like for this,” she explained.

The trials will look at cabinet locations, power availability, and customer accessibility and experience alongside engineering considerations.

These will include planning considerations in terms of local council engagement, permissions and physical accessibility.

"We’re very open-minded in terms of who we would work with and what that business model might look like," Jessica Kyte, Etc

How the network’s rollout could be funded is also being examined, with public funding options, private investment and wider financial modelling considered to establish a viable business, whether that be a dedicated BT Group venture or in partnership with others. 

“We’re going into it with a very open mind,” continued Kyte. “We have our initial working assumptions, but we’re very open-minded in terms of who we would work with and what that business model might look like. That’s really what we’re hoping to use this pilot to prove out.”

The green street cabinets, which are yet to be decommissioned, will have one charge point per cabinet which provides two charging sockets.

As cabinets become decommissioned, Etc says that it can potentially add more charge points (a further two charging sockets), while it also has the option to upgrade the power so that more chargers could be added to the network.

The charging solution works by retrofitting the cabinets with a device that enables energy drawn from a renewable source to power a charge point alongside the existing broadband service with no need to create a new power connection. 

EV charging, therefore, can be deployed to cabinets that are in-use for current copper broadband services, or in those due for retirement, depending on the space and power available to the unit. 

Once the cabinet is no longer needed for broadband, as nationwide full fibre rollout progresses, the broadband equipment is recycled, and additional EV charge points can be added, says Etc.

The initiative has already been celebrated on the global stage at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), in Las Vegas, after being awarded an Innovation Honoree for 2024 for outstanding design and engineering. 

Kyte concluded: “There are some barriers to customers adopting EVs, which we believe this can help with.”