Rural Electric Mobility Enabler (REME)

There are a number of challenges to the roll out and uptake of Electric Vehicles in rural areas, these include (but are not limited to):

* The availability of public charge points
* The power network and supply to support reliable and fast charging
* Digital Connectivity to allow payment, availability and booking platforms to operate, etc
* The roadside space to provide 'on street' options
* The complexities of installing infrastructure in sensitive areas (National Parks, SSSIs, Conservation areas etc)
* Managing peaks in demand brought by seasonal visitors to the area

The opportunity brought by this funding competition allows the consortium to approach the challenge with complimentary solutions which are replicable in any rural locations.

The first is the 'Cold Mapping' tool. This is a multi-layered tool which looks at a number of data-sets to understand the baseline data. This includes current charging point provision, power network constraints, population, demand etc. Crucially it will also be able to consider the seasonal fluctuations in demand that, primarily car based, tourism will have on the charge point network's ability to meet demand. This tool is replicable across many different rural locations, and the datasets used can be specific to the challenges in various areas being examined.

We will also look at the possibility of increasing charge point access and utilisation through the integration of privately and business-owned charge points into the wider charging network through an innovative solution which facilitates a 'smart' peer-to-peer (P2P) charging option.

We will examine 'holistic energy management': effectively how to make rural areas more independent of the mains grid in relation to EV energy needs, for example by equipping car parks with solar panels that are not necessarily tied to the grid.

There is currently no framework or evaluation tool that can be easily adopted across all rural areas in the UK. This is because the needs are different in different parts of the country. The outcome of this project will help the local authorities and providers draw a more informed route to decarbonisation and support rural communities in both the move to zero carbon and the sustainability of the tourist industry.