Could Liverpool’s idea of adding EV chargers to streetlights work in the US?

It’s no secret that electrification plans are charging forward at a rapid rate across the globe. Automakers all over the globe are beginning to phase gasoline and diesel vehicles out of their lineups, introducing new fully electric models left and right. While this is an exciting prospect that should have a huge, positive impact on the environment, many are still worried about the infrastructure not quite being ready. And for good reason! While a lot of homeowners are well equipped to welcome the addition of an electric vehicle to their garage, what about individuals who live in apartments? This is just one example of the drawbacks still present in the infrastructure, despite the fact that it has made huge strides across the country.

Across the pond, a company called Ubitricity thinks they have an answer to this issue and they’re going to be rolling it out in Liverpool, England. What is their idea? They’ll be installing EV chargers to pre-existing streetlights throughout the city, giving people in situations like those aforementioned apartment dwellers access to overnight charging. This got us thinking, could this idea work in the US?

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Liverpool EV Charging Plan

The UK company called Ubitricity, which is now owned by Shell, intends to build 300 EV charging stations throughout the city. These new charging stations, which will offer 5 kW charging speeds, will take advantage of the city’s preexisting infrastructure by building each unit right into a streetlight. Furthermore, they’ll be letting residents and businesses in the city choose the best locations for these new units, maximizing their reach and use. Each unit will take less than two hours to install and is much more cost effective than building completely new charging points. But could this be replicated in the States?

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Could this work in US cities?

While the EV charging infrastructure here in the states has improved and expanded dramatically over the past several years, we’re still likely a ways off from having the infrastructure needed for certain states’ goals of completely phasing out traditional engine vehicles over the next decade plus. A lot of the focus has been on creating public EV charging hubs, much like gas stations. While this is a great answer for DC fast charging and getting extra miles over a short amount of time, it still doesn’t provide a necessary alternative for overnight charging to people like apartment dwellers. We think these streetlight chargers could be a great answer to this question, but we would need our own test city here in the states much like Liverpool before it could be rolled out widely. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for something like this!