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Only smart chargepoints to attract Government funding in the future

VW e Golf charging for Business Motoring Week
Electric charging at home must be via smart chargers to attract government funding

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14 December 2018

Pod Point wall charger
Smart Pod Point wall charger

ELECTRIC vehicle chargepoints will only attract government funding if they are smart units, both at home and at work.

Worth up to £500, the change in government support commences July 2019.

Smart chargepoints, says the Department for Transport, must be capable of being accessed remotely, and able to receive, interpret and react to a signal.

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One of the key points for the Department of Transport is that smart charging encourages off-peak charging, minimising draw on the grid during peak times.

Jesse Norman, Roads Minister, said:

“The Government wants the UK to be the best place in the world to build and own an electric vehicle, and through leadership and innovation it is paving the way to a zero emission future.

“We have already supported the installation of over 100,000 home chargepoints. Now the measures announced today will give more people the opportunity to make the move to electric.”

The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme has supported the delivery of domestic chargepoints since 2014 and delivered over 60,000 grants to date.

The government says this latest development in government funded smart chargers is the next step in its Road to Zero strategy.

Vulnerabilities in chargers says Kaspersky Lab

At the same time as the government announcement, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab is warning of a vulnerability in chargers that can be exploited by cyber attackers.

Kaspersky Lab researchers say they have found a way to initiate commands on the charger and to either stop the charging processor or set it to the maximum current possible.

While the first option would only prevent a person from using the car, the second one could potentially cause the wires to overheat on a device that is not protected by a trip fuse.

Kaspersky Lab says that the vulnerability is present in only one home charger supplier, and has alerted the company to its findings.

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Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton is an award-winning journalist and the founder of Business Car Manager (now renamed Business Motoring). Ralph writes extensively about the car and van leasing industry as well as wider fleet and company car issues. A former editor of What Car?, Ralph is a vastly experienced writer and editor and has been writing about the automotive sector for over 35 years.

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