Deadline Date: March 25, 2026
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, has announced up to £10 million in funding from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) to support innovative solutions addressing electric vehicle (EV) charging challenges along England’s Strategic Road Network.
The competition aims to test novel whole systems concepts in a real world setting, which address electric vehicle (EV) charging power challenges along the Strategic Road Network (SRN) in England; develop and demonstrate innovative solutions addressing short to medium term grid and operational constraints to EV charging provision, faced at all purpose trunk road (APTR) cold spots and Motorway Service Areas (MSAs) along the Strategic Road Network (SRN) in England; enable at least 12 EVs (primarily cars and vans) to access ultra rapid (150kW or more) charging at SRN sites on motorways and APTR in England; build sector capability and foster a shared focus on improving Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure on the SRN in England; and widely disseminate learning which can enable industry to address power, grid and operational challenges to EV charging provision along the SRN in England.
Up to £10 million has been allocated for innovation projects under this competition, provided a sufficient number of high-quality applications are received. Funding will be offered in the form of a grant. Innovate UK reserves the right to adjust allocations in response to policy changes, portfolio considerations, or broader government funding decisions.
Eligible projects must have a grant funding request between £500,000 and £3 million and begin funded activities by 1 July 2026. Each project should represent a novel solution to power, grid, and operational constraints affecting public EV charging at APTR cold spots and Motorway Service Areas. Funded development and real-world deployment activities must be completed by 31 March 2028, in line with relevant standards or requirements.
To collaborate with the lead, an organisation must be one of the following UK-registered entities: a business of any size, academic institution, charity, not-for-profit organisation, public sector organisation, or research and technology organisation (RTO). The project consortium must include partners that perform the functions of an SRN site operator and an EV charge point operator (CPO) in England, though one organisation may perform both roles.
Project participants may also include a wide range of stakeholders, such as transport sector operators (including service area operators, road operators, charging equipment developers and suppliers, and EV fleet operators), energy sector representatives (such as Distribution Network Operators, Independent Distribution Network Operators, Independent Connection Providers, and energy suppliers), as well as IT, digital, and cyber security specialists working on energy management, monitoring, and sensing systems. Other participants may include infrastructure owners, investors, and end users.
Each partner organisation must be invited by the lead into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) to collaborate on the project. After accepting the invitation, partners must log in or create an IFS account to input their project costs and complete the Project Impact section of the application.
For a collaboration to be eligible, the lead organisation and at least one other partner must both apply for funding when entering their costs, provide a clear rationale and structure for the collaboration in the application, and ensure that no single partner accounts for more than 70% of the total eligible costs.
For more information, visit GOV.UK.
