DoorSTEP - Onstreet charging on your DoorSTEP (Subsurface Technology for Electric Pathways)

Currently, over 95% of electric vehicle (EV) charging is done through private home chargers at off-street locations such as driveways and garages. Off-street charging is convenient as cars are typically parked outside the owner's house and can charge up overnight. It is also cheap because of benefits from a domestic electricity supply that, with flexible tariffs, can cost as little as 5p/kWh during off-peak periods. By comparison, EV drivers without off-street parking must use publicly available chargers typically costing more than 30p/kWh. While in some cases it is easy to incorporate public charging into daily routines, for most people this remains a significant barrier to EV adoption.

Trojan Energy are developing new chargepoint technology as part of the DoorSTEP project to address this problem. Their system will allow anyone who usually parks on-street to install their own chargepoint in front of their house, connected to their domestic electricity supply. The charging technology is installed below the pavement, with a flat and flush connector which the user connects to their car with a Trojan 'lance'. The lance is removed when charging is complete, so no clutter is left in the street when the car is not charging.

Anyone with a lance could connect to the system, so the owner can choose to make the chargepoint accessible to friends, family, and members of the public. Owners can participate in a digital marketplace, setting the price at a level that is competitive with other public alternatives. As a result, the owner can recover the cost of the installation over time and everyone else benefits from access to low-cost convenient charging close to their home.

Local authorities across the UK recognise the need for this solution to ensure that charging is available to those without off-street parking. Many have declared climate emergencies and are working hard to ensure sufficient charging availability as EVs are adopted more widely. As part of these efforts, Brent and Oxfordshire councils have agreed to partner with Trojan to develop the DoorSTEP technology. East Lothian will act as an associate partner. The technology will be trialled outside several homes and businesses across the two partner councils, to assist with development of the technology and to create and implement effective planning procedures for installing privately owned charging infrastructure on public pavements. This will allow the technology to become a mass market product that can be rolled out across the country.