Two London councils choose char.gy for EV charging infrastructure

On-street EV charging provider char.gy has been chosen by Richmond and Wandsworth councils in London to migrate and manage their charging networks.

The partnership between char.gy and Richmond and Wandsworth councils demonstrates the possibility for councils nearing the end of their contracts to migrate their EV charging infrastructure rather than renewing or replacing it.

Richmond and Wandsworth were among the first London councils to roll out extensive on-street charging networks, supported by the 5-year Go Ultra Low City Scheme (GULCS). With the conclusion of this scheme this year, they launched a competitive procurement process for network operators to manage the infrastructure.

They selected char.gy to manage the migration and take over the operation of 950 charging points across the two boroughs. The chargers will be transferred in three phases. The first phase, involving the integration of 368 charging points, will be completed by the end of July 2024. The entire transfer is expected to be finalized by November 2025.

The migration will expand char.gy’s network by over a third and follows a recent capital injection from Zouk Capital, bringing the company’s total funding to £100 million.

“This represents a crucial development in the way EV infrastructure can be rolled out. It offers councils a greater degree of choice in their partnerships with private companies, bringing healthy competition to the market, which ultimately encourages operators to provide the best service possible to both councils and EV drivers,” said John Lewis, CEO of char.gy.

Source: char.gy