Siemens has unveiled the U.K.’s first residential avenue fully converted to provide lamp post electric vehicle (EV) charging points. Coined ‘Electric Avenue, W9,’ Sutherland Avenue in London offers motorists an accessible way to charge their EVs.
The project, in collaboration with ubitricity and Westminster City Council, has successfully converted 24 lamp posts into EV charge points using existing city infrastructure. Residents can now charge EVs at various locations along Sutherland Avenue in London, with a further two adjoining roads due to be completed in the coming weeks.
The launch follows research conducted by Siemens showing 36% of British motorists planned to buy a hybrid or EV as their next car, with 40% saying that a lack of charging points stopped them from doing so sooner. This makes it the biggest factor deterring motorists from purchasing an electric or hybrid vehicle.
“We know that half of London’s air pollution is caused by road transport, and Westminster is a particularly busy area,” says Cedrik Neike, member of the managing board of Siemens AG and CEO of Siemens Smart Infrastructure.
“While we cannot solve the challenge of air quality overnight, ‘Electric Avenue, W9’ is an important showcase of what’s possible using existing city infrastructure. It illustrates how residential streets will look in the near future, and accelerates the shift to zero-emission vehicles,” he adds.
‘Electric Avenue, W9’ showcases a shift in attitudes toward EVs that the U.K. is experiencing. Data show 80% of motorists in central London believe it is ‘very important’ that air quality is improved, and 83% have become more concerned about their carbon footprint in the past five years. Westminster has seen a 40% growth in EVs charged in the borough during 2019.
Westminster City Council currently has more EV points than any U.K. local authority, with a total of 296 lamp column charge points in the city, 24 of which are located on ‘Electric Avenue, W9.’ There are plans to reach 1,000 charge points across Westminster within the next year, as it has twice the number of locally registered EVs than any other inner London borough, and the most among all the other London boroughs.
Siemens and ubitricity have now completed over 1,300 installations across the city, significantly funded from the Go Ultra Low Cities Scheme, supporting the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s campaign to improve London’s air quality.
Photo: A motorist using a lamp post EV charging station