Dundee City Council to receive funding for EV charging network as new 'superhub' opens in the city
The local authority will receive £300,000
The Scottish Government is providing five councils with over £7m to improve the electric vehicle (EV) charging network.
Transport Scotland announced the funding for Dundee, Highland, Moray, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire councils, which is intended to stimulate private sector investment – with Dundee City Council set to receive £300,000 in funding.
It comes as Scotland’s most powerful EV charging hub is being opened by SSE in Dundee today.
The Myrekirk Roundabout site features 24 ultra-rapid charging bays, eight of which can provide up to 60 miles of driving range in three minutes.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop, who unveiled the new hub this morning, said: “To reduce transport emissions and protect the climate, the Scottish Government is committed to phasing out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.
“We can only do this if people have confidence in the availability of charging infrastructure – and that can only be achieved through private investment like what we can see here from SSE at Myrekirk.
“With private investment we can grow the network with the pace and scale required to meet our commitment to see approximately 24,000 additional public charge points added by 2030.
“Our latest funding will ensure more places in Scotland benefit from the kind of high-quality infrastructure we can see here in Dundee.”
Figures from the charger mapping service Zapmap show a 43% increase in the number of public chargers in the year to June 2024, taking the total number to 5,663. However, concerns remain that charging infrastructure is not keeping pace with electric vehicle sales.
Vicky Read, the chief executive officer of ChargeUK – a group made up of dozens of EV charging companies – said members “stand ready to deliver” the Scottish Government’s target of improving the charging network as it seeks to phase out petrol and diesel cars by 2030.