The UK has taken ‘a major step’ towards the electric vehicle revolution according to the government after the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act completed its passage through parliament.

First published in its draft form in October 2017, the AEV Bill constitutes the government’s main route to greater provision of charging infrastructure, which it sees as the main barrier to uptake of EVs in the future.

Upon receiving royal assent, a series of measures around deployment and access to charge points are set to become enforceable by law once transport secretary Chris Grayling selects a date for implementation.

Speaking on Thursday when the bill passed, roads minister Jesse Norman said:

“The UK is becoming a world leader in the roll-out of low-emission transport. Today we have passed a significant milestone in that journey.

“This act will ensure that the UK’s infrastructure and insurance system is ready for the biggest transport revolution in a century.”

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The increased peak demand from as many as 11 million electric vehicles on UK roads by 2030 could be just 8GW thanks to the use of smart charging technologies, according to National Grid’s latest forecasts.

The much-anticipated Future Energy Scenarios 2018 was launched today, outlining a range of four potential scenarios for the future of the UK energy system.

Across all of them, electricity demand is expected to grow significantly by 2050, particularly from 2030s onwards, driven by increased electrification of transport, with heat contributing to this in some cases.

However, National Grid revealed that the emergence of smart charging will mitigate the impact on the grid of these millions of vehicles by shifting demand out of peak periods.

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• There are currently more than 150,000 ultra-low emission vehicles on British roads.
• The strategy sets out a target that at least 50 percent of new car sales be ultra-low emission by 2030.

The British government has unveiled a plan that it hopes will make the country a world leader in electric vehicles.

The Road to Zero Strategy contains a series of proposals to help increase green infrastructure, cut vehicle emissions and “drive the uptake” of zero-emission vans, trucks and cars, the government said in a statement Monday.

The strategy sets out a target that at least 50 percent of new car sales — and “up to” 40 percent of van sales — be ultra-low emission by 2030. The government added that it had already made a commitment to invest £1.5 billion ($2 billion) in ultra-low emission vehicles by the year 2020.

Other measures include plans to install charge points in newly-built homes and lampposts, the launch of a £400 million Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund and a new £40 million program to develop and trial “innovative, low-cost wireless and on-street charging technology.”

Additionally, electric vehicle owners would be provided with as much as £500 to help them install a charge point at their home.

Read more: CNBC

New homes in suburban England would need to be fitted with electric car charging points under a government proposal to cut emissions.

Ministers also want new street lights to come with charge points wherever there’s on-street parking.

Details of a sales ban on new conventional petrol and diesel cars by 2040 are also expected to be set out.

The strategy comes at a time when the government is facing criticism for failing to reduce carbon emissions.

The government’s target is to reduce the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% of 1990 levels by 2050.

The proposals, announced by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, aim to make it easier to recharge an electric car rather than refuel petrol or diesel vehicles.

They include:

• The need to assess if new homes and offices should be required to install charging points as standard
• New street lighting columns with on-street parking to have charging points in appropriate locations
• More money being allocated to fund charging infrastructure.

Mr Grayling said the proposed measures would mean the UK having “one of the most comprehensive support packages for zero-emission vehicles in the world”.

“The prize is not just a cleaner and healthier environment but a UK economy fit for the future and the chance to win a substantial slice of a market estimated to be worth up to £7.6 trillion by 2050,” he said.

Read more: BBC

Smart charging of electric vehicles (EVs) could cut the cost of integration into the UK power system by over £1 billion compared to standard charging, according to a new report that also found running an EV could be ten times cheaper than a conventional car.

WWF commissioned Vivid Economics to deliver a two-part report on the effect of bringing the UK’s proposed 2040 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles ahead by ten years.

It found that the ‘2030 scenario’, which forecasts 20 million electric cars and vans on UK roads, could be delivered at lower cost than the 13 million under the ‘2040 scenario’. The report argues that this is due to the charging profile rather than the number of EVs, which it said is a more important factor.

“The smartness of the transition to electric vehicles will be the main factor determining how cost effective the transition is, not the speed of the transition,” it states.

Read more: Current News