The UK government has announced £10 million in funding to support projects enabling electric vehicles (EVs) to charge without large grid connections or off grid.

The funding aims to help overcome grid constraint challenges and enable more chargers to be rolled out on England’s motorways and major A-roads, which the government said would give drivers the confidence they need to make long distance journeys in EVs.

The government is inviting private operators to apply for a share of the funding which will be used to develop innovative energy sources and technologies enabling existing energy supplies to go further.

Solutions could include combinations of renewable energy sources such as solar, alongside energy storage systems like batteries, which the government said would avoid the need for expensive grid upgrades at “harder-to-power" locations.

The solution will be targeted at hard-to-treat, grid-constrained sites where high costs or long timescales would otherwise delay chargepoint provision.

“We’re powering up the future of driving with £10 million for cutting-edge tech to get more chargepoints on motorways and major A-roads,” said minister for aviation, maritime and decarbonisation minister, Keir Mather. “With over 25,000 drivers already switching to electric thanks to our discounts of up to £3,750, we’re backing British innovation, boosting jobs and making EV travel easier than ever.”

In August, the government announced that 13 car models will be added to the Electric Car Grant (ECG) scheme.

People purchasing the cars, made by Nissan, Renault and Vauxhall, will be able to save £1,500 through the grant.

Four models from Citroën are already eligible for a discount under the £650 million scheme which aims to make it cheaper and easier to own and electric vehicle (EV).

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