Daily EV news · UK · 30 July 2026

Belfast Harbour has appointed NATPOWER MARINE UK LIMITED as lead partner for a £12 million shore power infrastructure project under the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure 2: Electric Power scheme. The project will coordinate applications for electric power infrastructure enabling vessels to connect to grid electricity whilst docked. Shore power infrastructure shares technical overlap with high power EV charging systems, involving similar grid connection, power electronics and electrical infrastructure capabilities.

Why it matters: The £12 million contract demonstrates how shore power represents an adjacent market for EV charging suppliers, with the technology overlap creating potential crossover opportunities for established charging infrastructure providers seeking to diversify their portfolios.

Allego has announced a €100 million investment plan to install up to 1,400 ultra-rapid EV chargers across the UK by 2030, targeting high-traffic locations and densely populated urban areas with particular focus on London. The company will finance, build, own and operate the chargers under long-term lease agreements with retail and hospitality partners, replicating its existing model with IKEA in Belgium, REWE in Germany and Burger King in France.

Why it matters: This represents a significant procurement pipeline for site hosts and construction partners, with Allego seeking retail and hospitality landowners willing to enter long-term lease arrangements. The scale of the rollout addresses the UK's undersized public charging network relative to EV demand, creating opportunities for businesses to monetise high-footfall sites without capital outlay.

Devon County Council is retendering a term contract for electrical and fire safety system testing across its estate, with one lot covering EV charger servicing. The £1.47M figure represents the entire contract value, not the EV servicing component alone. The submission deadline is 7 July 2026.

Why it matters: This is a maintenance and servicing opportunity rather than new charging infrastructure deployment, suited to electrical contractors with EV charger servicing capabilities. The contract structure bundles EV work within broader electrical testing, requiring bidders to assess whether the EV lot alone justifies tender costs.

EV charging payment platform Paua has partnered with smart charging firm Easee to automate home charging reimbursement for fleet operators. The integration links Easee's connected home chargers with Paua Reimburse, allowing fleets to compensate drivers based on actual energy usage and real electricity tariffs rather than HMRC's Advisory Electric Rate. Analysis from Paua's reimbursement calculator, drawn from thousands of real world scenarios, underpins the shift from manual expense claims to automated, usage based reimbursement with line manager approval workflows.

Why it matters: Fleet operators procuring home charging infrastructure gain a turnkey solution that cuts administrative overhead and improves cost accuracy, potentially influencing charger hardware tenders where integrated reimbursement is a requirement. The partnership signals growing demand for data interoperability between charge point hardware and fleet management platforms in the UK market.

Devon County Council has partnered with on-street charge point operator char.gy to install 30 kerbside EV chargers in a trial expected to begin in early to mid August 2025. The project is an early delivery under the Government's Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, with funding released per charge point, and aims to improve residential charging access for drivers without off-street parking. The trial will inform how on-street charging can be expanded across the county ahead of a wider rollout.

Why it matters: The trial demonstrates how local authorities in historically underserved rural regions are using LEVI funding to test scalable on-street charging models before committing to larger procurements. For CPOs and suppliers, per-charge-point funding structures under LEVI create opportunities to prove operational models in challenging rural geographies like Devon.

RAW Charging has opened a 32 bay EV charging hub at Xscape Milton Keynes in partnership with site owner Landsec. The facility, described as the biggest charging installation in the region, will offer free charging from 11 to 13 August to mark its launch. RAW Charging positions the site as serving local households without off street parking and visitors to Xscape's leisure attractions, noting that 72% of journeys in Milton Keynes are made by car.

Why it matters: The partnership between a destination charging operator and a major property owner demonstrates the commercial model for large format hubs at high footfall leisure sites. The scale and location target both resident and visitor demand in a car dependent city, a template for similar retail and entertainment venue deployments.

Freedom of Information requests by Vauxhall show 49 of 194 responding councils now offer accessible charging, double the previous year, yet 75% of local authorities provide no chargers adapted for disabled drivers or meeting recognised accessibility standards. Geographic disparities are stark: London has 2,131 accessible on street chargers while the Northwest has 43 and Scotland 14. On street chargers in disabled bays rose over 50% since 2024, with roughly 15% of on street chargers adapted for disabled drivers and 14% meeting PAS 1899:2022 guidance.

Why it matters: Procurement teams and CPOs face mounting pressure to embed accessibility from design stage rather than retrofit, as regulatory and reputational risks grow with EV adoption. The data exposes a postcode lottery that could shape future grant conditions and tender scoring for public charging contracts.