With 97% of personal journeys and 88% of freight movements in the North made using our highways, our roads have a vital role in underpinning economic activity, opening up access to jobs, goods and services and in enabling growth in new employment and housing.

However, TfN recognises that road transport has a critical role in meeting UK targets for decarbonisation. Motorised road travel is the largest contributor to transport carbon emissions, producing 23% of UK road emissions; 6% of total UK emissions. We require a mix of technology, behavioural and place-based solutions to reach our decarbonisation targets. Central to this will be the need for a rapid rollout of EV charging infrastructure.

The phasing out of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 has been confirmed and manufacturers have responded accordingly. New EV demand accounted for more than one in four new cars in December 2021. The next decade will need to see a rapid transition to EVs and ZEVs, and this uptake requires the enabling charging infrastructure to meet our EV needs effectively and efficiently, as one of the solutions to decarbonise transport.

What is our EV Charging Infrastructure Framework?

Our Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Framework breaks new ground by applying our state-of-the-art regional analytics to develop a rich place based understanding of charging need, at a previously unmapped geographic scale.

A key challenge for national government, local authorities and the private sector is planning and delivering a comprehensive Electric Vehicle charging network with confidence. Our evidence provides additional clarity on the scale and pace of change required across our region to support a rapid and consistent transition to electric vehicles.

That is why we are sharing our evidence openly, to boost the region’s capacity and capability to plan and collaborate confidently towards accelerated implementation and delivery on the ground.

The evidence is clear that we must act now, if we’re to roll out the EV charging points needed to support our decarbonisation, economic, and inclusivity ambitions. The public sector must play an active role in shaping this, and TfN will continue to act as a strategic thought leader, to champion the opportunities and requirements for our region, and support our partners in implementing the right infrastructure needs in the right place, at the right time.

 

EVCI framework
ev charge multi station
Front cover of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Framework document

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Framework

Our evidence identifies the scale and pace of change required across our region to support a rapid transition to electric vehicles. By developing robust evidence we can support decision-making and manage the many uncertainties around EVCI deployment to accelerate infrastructure role out across the region with confidence, while maximising value for money.

Read the report

"Our work on EV charging infrastructure is at the cutting edge of strategic planning, and can help to inform local, regional and national actions with regards to EV charging infrastructure."

We’ve produced a slide pack which lays out the approach to Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) model development.

Our Statement of Method below outlines the full technical approach, data sources, inputs and outputs for our EVCI framework evidence base. For any additional information or queries regarding data usage, please contact [email protected]

EVCI Framework Statement of Methodology

Data usage and sharing

Transport for the North has made publicly available the Transport for the North EV Charging Infrastructure framework visualizer tool and the Transport for the North EV Charging Infrastructure – rapid charging location tool. These tools are available to use under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Additionally your use of these tools indicates your acceptance of the following Disclaimer and Appropriate Use Statement.

ev electric car cumbria

How will the framework help the North?

Our evidence is clear that we must act now, if we’re to roll out the EV charging points needed to support our decarbonisation, economic, and inclusivity ambitions. The public sector must play an active role in shaping this, and TfN will continue to act as a strategic thought leader, to champion the opportunities and requirements for our region, and support our partners in implementing the right infrastructure needs in the right place, at the right time.

Our whole network approach recognises that supporting EVs and delivering effective charging infrastructure requires an approach at a scale beyond individual local authority boundaries. Regional travel patterns require integrated considerations, and our partners have recognised the value of common interest, collaboration and alignment when seeking the right solutions for charging infrastructure to support all users in the region.

By working with our transport and energy partners, through our regional EV Steering Group, TfN has developed a framework of evidence that can not only accelerate delivery across the region at this key time, but also influence and shape processes and programmes at the national level.

The value of our Visitor Economy
Front cover of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Framework document
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Framework

Our Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure framework has been developed to support local authority and national government partners in the planning and deployment of local

EVCI Model - Statement of Methodology
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) Model – Statement of Methodology

The EVCI model forecasts the electric charging infrastructure needs across the North of England. Our evidence provides additional clarity on the scale and pace of change requi

Systems thinking towards decarbonisation

While speed and acceleration in implementation is important, so too is recognising the needs of the users across the whole regional network. It is key that this delivery of charging infrastructure is user-centred, placed-based and outcome-focused to ensure EVs are equitable, accessible and inclusive to all who need to drive. Our approach also provides a means to make better assessments regarding the many social and spatial considerations associated with EV charging infrastructure, particularly those impacting the non-EV users.

We must also recognise the significant requirements placed on the electricity grid and energy networks arising from the electrification of road vehicles. There is a need for investment in new energy infrastructure, in terms of electricity generation, distribution, and storage (particularly for high load vehicles such as freight). That is why we have taken a systems approach to work collaboratively with the public sector, chargepoint operators (CPO), and the energy sector to plan effectively to unlock delivery and investment right across the region.

 

Our Decarbonisation Strategy
Lady on bike decarb strategy
Future travel scenarios, illustration on future transport

Recognising and negotiating uncertainty for EV infrastructure decision-making

One of the biggest concerns for the public sector is committing decisions and finance on infrastructure which may result in being obsolete or abortive quite quickly. Our EVCI Framework provides a mechanism to better understand and navigate the uncertainties currently faced, and what they might mean for charging needs across the region, to enhance confidence in making decisions towards EV charging infrastructure.

The model behind our framework is a live tool within TfN’s Analytical Framework, allowing us to react quickly and flexibly to understand the impact of any new evidence and trends around user charging behaviours, as well as electric charging and vehicle technology advances.

By applying TfN’s Future Travel Scenarios within our framework, we can continue to assess the broader drivers of user travel movements and what that might mean for network demand (both highway and electric charging).

Future Travel Scenarios
Greg Marsden

Professor Greg Marsden, Institute of Transport Studies at the University of Leeds and DecarboN8

An innovative, technically rigorous and highly policy relevant piece of work, which builds on the strong knowledge base developed by TfN through its work on regional modelling and appraisal.