Using data to unlock infrastructure prosperity…

Sustainability is the key to urban prosperity. With increased construction costs, inflation and supply chain issues causing disruption to industries across the board, optimizing capital expenditure is crucial. While these two questions that this blueprint aims to answer are simple in format, they encompass the most critical considerations for planners and decision-makers; understanding the future demand for charge point availability including quantity, charger type and required locations and specifically identifying suitable sites that are both useful and accessible to drivers with the necessary infrastructure and capacity to support installation.

While relatively simple analyses can yield useful estimates of demand and site suitability, the core datasets defined in this blueprint also support more in-depth analytics and planning scenarios to be adopted while considering and managing potential risks.

The blueprint therefore takes a modular approach to planning assessments providing insights for both Demand and Locate assessment. Each of these two modules provides example analytics and case studies for planners to adopt based on the available data. More basic analysis for locations where data is sparse or costly to acquire are included alongside more advanced applications where data is readily available. The challenges to maximise data availability are identified with key roles for government, network operators and vehicle manufacturers to facilitate access to information and ensure that comprehensive electric vehicle charging infrastructure planning approaches can be adopted in any location.