Response to 'Supercharging the EV transition'

This response from the FEVER project team advocates for government support of grid-independent EV charging solutions to accelerate infrastructure rollout and address geographical and socio-economic disparities in charging access. The team recommends that the government formally include off grid charging options in policy and funding. While welcoming the Department for Transport's recent £10 million innovation competition for off-grid ultra-rapid chargers on motorways, the authors recommend extending this approach to local settings such as car parks, where lower-power chargers (22kW or less) can serve vehicles with longer dwell times. Grid-independent solutions offer key benefits: they bypass lengthy grid connection queues and costs, can be deployed more rapidly, support community energy schemes, and help address charging availability concerns that discourage EV adoption. The FEVER team calls for better integration between NESO's Connections Reform and EV charging infrastructure planning to ensure a balanced approach that includes both grid-connected and grid-independent charging solutions.