EV Charge Point & Infrastructure Grant Funding for SMEs

With electric vehicle registrations rising monthly and a nationwide sustainability agenda established, the UK government has introduced a unique grant funding initiative for SMEs.

The EV infrastructure grant is designed specifically to allow small to medium-sized businesses to benefit from significant grant funding towards the installation of future-proof EV charging infrastructure. Businesses can claim up to five grants (one grant application per building) and can take advantage of up to £15,000 funding per grant application.

Who can claim the EV infrastructure grant?

This grant is specifically for small to medium-sized businesses that have a desire to install charging infrastructure across their properties. The business must either be registered at Companies House or VAT registered with HMRC. If it is not registered at either, the business will not be eligible for the grant.

The business must have 249 employees or less to be eligible for the grant funding.

What are the rules?

A business can claim up to five grants in total. Each grant must be for separate sites that the business owns, leases or rents
The charging points can only be used for staff or fleet use
Visitors cannot use the charging points
The grant supports the provision of charging points and future charging point locations where chargers will be installed at a later date. A minimum of five parking spaces must be provisioned with charging infrastructure, and at least one of those spaces must have a working charging point installed
Each grant application can be up to a maximum of £15,000. If more charging points are required, the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) can be used
One application must be handled by one installer
The charging points required for the grant must be on the Workplace Charging Scheme Approved Chargepoint Model

Is your location eligible for the EV UK grant?

The EV infrastructure grant covers England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Locations in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man are not covered.

Where an installation requires cabling or other parts of the installation to be placed in or on another person’s property or public land, access rights and permissions must be agreed upon by all parties using legally binding arrangements, such as legal covenants, before an installation begins.

What are the parking space requirements?

The car park must possess at least five EV charging parking spaces. The spaces must be clearly marked
The parking facilities must be clearly associated with the applicant’s property and be either on-site or a reasonable distance from the place of work
Installation of charging points must be situated across private off-street parking
Businesses must own the land or have sole legal rights to it

The requirements for EV charging infrastructure explained

The EV infrastructure grant supports the costs of installing the infrastructure needed for charging points to operate and for future charging points to be installed.

The charging infrastructure must include at least the following:

A new electrical connection at a metered electrical supply point, such as a consumer unit or feeder pillar
A dedicated, safe, unobstructed route for electrical cabling from the electrical supply point to the installed charging points and any future connection locations
Any future connection locations
Provisions to facilitate the safe installation of an electric vehicle charging point
Any charging points that are installed

As part of the charging infrastructure, a dedicated, safe, unobstructed route must be made from the electrical supply point to allow for the future provision of all necessary electrical cabling to each identified future connection location without the need for builders’ work in connection with the electrical cabling installation.

For further information on the requirements for charging infrastructure, please visit EV infrastructure grant for staff and fleets: customer guidance – GOV.UK

Additional eligible costs

In addition to supporting the installation of charging infrastructure, the EV infrastructure grant also supports costs towards any software to manage and maintain the charging points, grid connections, associated signage, civil engineering works and more.

For a complete breakdown of items eligible under the EV infrastructure grant, please visit EV infrastructure grant for staff and fleets: customer guidance – GOV.UK

How much you can claim through the EV infrastructure grant

Businesses can claim up to £500 for the charging infrastructure per parking space
Businesses can claim up to £350 towards the purchase and installation of a charging socket
The total amount of grant funding available cannot be more than 75% of the cost of the installation of the charging points and infrastructure charged to the customer

EV charging grant summary

The EV infrastructure grant presents significant opportunities for SMEs who are wanting to install charging infrastructure across their premises.

With £15,000 available per building (maximum five), businesses can allow their staff and company fleet drivers to recharge their vehicles whilst on-site. This grant funding differs from other grant funding initiatives as this covers the installation and charging infrastructure as well as the charging points.

For businesses that require more charging points, the WCS can be used in addition to the EV infrastructure grant.

For more on how Sevadis can support your SME’s electric vehicle charging requirements: EV Charging For Workplaces – Investment Benefits – Sevadis

To check out our OZEV-approved range of EV charging points: Product Range – Electric Charging Units & Accessories – Sevadis

For more details on the EV infrastructure grant: EV infrastructure grant for staff and fleets: customer guidance – GOV.UK