Birmingham City Council Launches Major EV Charging Network Expansion
Birmingham City Council and ubitricity are installing 560 lamppost EV charge points across residential areas where off-street parking is limited.
The initiative — the first of its kind in the UK’s second-largest city — addresses data showing most electric vehicles in Birmingham are kept at homes without private driveways.
300 charge points are already installed, with the remaining 260 scheduled for completion before spring 2025. The project uses funding from the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme.
Each charging point takes under an hour to install across 82 streets, minimizing disruption while avoiding street clutter. Locations are selected based on resident demand and grid connection availability.
Transport produces about one-third of Birmingham’s CO2 emissions. The city declared a climate emergency in June 2019, targeting net-zero emissions by 2030 or soon after.
The council aims to build a comprehensive public charging network accessible to all users — including taxis, car clubs, commercial fleets, and residents without private parking.
“While our focus is on delivering the Birmingham Transport Plan and encouraging people to swap private vehicles for public transport, we want to ensure those who require cars have infrastructure for low or zero-emission vehicles,” said Councillor Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for Environment and Transport.
Stuart Wilson, UK managing director of ubitricity, said: “ubitricity is delighted to be supporting Birmingham City Council as they begin this journey to create one of the largest public EV charging networks outside London, encouraging the transition to electric vehicles, and helping to create a cleaner and healthier environment for the people of Birmingham.”
The project is part of Birmingham’s Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy, designed to remove barriers to EV adoption by providing convenient overnight charging options.
