A SCHEME to expand the network for electric vehicles could cost as much as £800 million over the next ten years, it has been claimed.

In papers due to go before the West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA) Environment Board this week, the authority claims that ‘a modest cost estimate’ for the roll out of electric vehicle charging points over the next 10 years ‘could be £200m-£800m’.

The figure was quoted in papers discussing the future of electric vehicles in the West Midlands, with the Environment Board set to discuss a West Midlands-wide approach during its meeting tomorrow (October 24).

The strategy conversation comes in response to the need to make the transition to a ‘zero carbon’ economy, something the WMCA aims to achieve by 2041 at the very latest,

Nationwide, it is predicted the number of rapid chargers located near the major roads network needs to expand to 1,170 by 2030 (from 460 in 2016), and demand for ‘top-up’ charging while parking around towns and local areas is estimated to require a rise from 2,700 chargepoints in 2016 to over 27,000 by 2030.

In the West Midlands region there are 1,450 chargepoints, which works out at 5.6 per cent of UK total.

In its attempts to expand the network for electric vehicles, the WMCA has come up with a collaborative strategy which will see constituent authorities working together to ensure an even and cost-effective roll out of charging points.

The strategy will see “the creation of a collectively owned Delivery Company (DelCo) that contracts with a private sector Operating Company (OpCo), which would deliver the charging infrastructure on-street and in publicly controlled off-street parking and other locations”.

In terms of funding, it is believed that the WMCA could bid for funding from the Government Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, with papers noting that as much as £200 million could be secured from this source, with an additional £200 million in private funding helping to get the project moving.