Birmingham City Council has announced the launch of a major new project to expand the city’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network.
In partnership with Ubitricity, the UK’s largest charge point operator, the Council is carrying out a pilot deployment of 560 lamppost EV charge points across residential areas of the city where access to private off-street parking is limited or unavailable.
This rollout represents the first project of its kind in the UK’s second-largest city and is expected to set a new standard for on-street EV charging. The project is being delivered in response to data showing that most electric cars are kept at homes without access to a private driveway.
Not having access to overnight charging ‘on your doorstep’ can act as a deterrent to EV ownership. This initiative, part of Birmingham’s wider Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy, is aimed at improving access to EV charging infrastructure. The challenges of deploying EV charging in the UK will be discussed in greater depth at the UK EV Charging Infrastructure Symposium in November 2025.
Ubitricity, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell and the UK’s largest EV charge point operator, will supply, install, own, operate, and maintain the new charge points on behalf of Birmingham City Council. This partnership is expected to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles by providing an accessible, convenient charging solution for those who rely on on-street parking.
“While our focus as a council is on delivering the Birmingham Transport Plan and encouraging people to swap private vehicles for public transport, we also want to ensure that, for those who require use of a car, we have the infrastructure in place to facilitate use of low or zero-emission vehicles,” says Councillor Majid Mahmood, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport at Birmingham City Council.
The 560 charge points will be installed in lampposts on 82 streets across the city, with each point taking less than an hour to install. The installation process is designed to minimise disruption and meets the Council’s key requirement to avoid street clutter, while strategically placing charge points based on resident demand and grid connection availability.
Deployed using Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) funding, the first 300 of these charge points have already been installed, and the remaining 260 will be installed before the end of Spring 2025.
“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,” says Stuart Wilson, UK MD for Ubitricity.
The pilot rollout respects the city’s broader commitment to the Council’s Birmingham Transport Plan 2031, and supports the objectives of the Brum Breathes Clean Air Strategy and the Route to Net Zero initiative. These initiatives aim to make walking, cycling, and public transport the preferred choice for getting around, whilst ensuring that remaining private vehicle use is enabled through access to clean, zero-emissions charging infrastructure.
