Upfront cost remains a key barrier to electrification, with 51% of respondents recently listing it within their top three blockers.
In terms of managing upfront cost, government subsidies can provide organisations with support.
But there’s more that businesses can do to remove the blocker of upfront cost by reducing or spreading initial expenses.
What Government subsidies are currently available?
The EV charge point grant provides financial support towards the installation work necessary to fit charge points. It’s valid for current or future installations and offers discounts for each socket and each parking space involved in an implementation project, covering up to 75% of total cost.
The Workplace Charging Scheme represents grants to reduce hardware purchase and direct installation costs by up to 75% or £350 per socket. It provides support towards the cost of up to 40 sockets per applicant. (There’s also a separate Workplace Charging Scheme for state-funded education institutions.)
The Plug-in Van Grant gives eligible organisations 35% off the purchase price (up to defined limits) of 1,500 plug-in vans and trucks each financial year.
Eligibility criteria applies – find out more at gov.uk. In Scotland, additional grants are also available via the Energy Savings Trust.
What else can organisations do to reduce upfront electrification costs?
Engage a specialist electrification partner – the right expert partner will help understand your needs, tailor your transition and future-proof your investment. This will minimise upfront costs and help you avoid expensive mistakes.
Assessing suitability – for organisations looking to electrify vehicle fleets and install supporting charging infrastructure, this will involve recording fleet-vehicle-specific mileage, journey and dwell data.
Investing cost-effectively in charging infrastructure – with planning you can ensure you install the right equipment for your business
Minimising installation disruption – having one partner to track the delivery of purchases, schedule installation, manage groundworks and act as an on-site point of contact will simplify implementation and prevent costly disruption.
Arrange a financing plan – financing frameworks enable you to split upfront costs over a period of years.
