The manager of HM Treasury’s charging infrastructure investment fund (CIIF), Zouk Capital, has announced the fund has reached £380m in signed commitments.
The sum, against a target of £400m, was anchored from the private sector by Willis Towers Watson’s clients and investment funds, and Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Climate Impact Fund, with funding matched by HM Treasury. The fund is targeting a final close in early 2021.
The CIIF is underpinned by the need to rapidly decarbonise the UK’s transport sector and improve air quality, which creates an opportunity to make environmentally impactful financial returns through the creation of large, renewable energy-powered, public EV charging networks.
CIIF aims for a rollout of a diversified public EV charging infrastructure that is required to support the electrification of vehicles throughout the UK. Two investments have been made from CIIF so far: the first investment in InstaVolt with plans to bolster UK rapid charge points nationally to 5000; and the second in Liberty Charge, a joint venture between Liberty Global and Zouk Capital, which is rolling out on-street residential charging points throughout the UK for the 40% of households without access to private driveways.
Matthew Vickerstaff, deputy chief executive officer, Infrastructure and Projects Authority said: “The private sector will play a crucial role in the ambitions to decarbonise our infrastructure and put the UK on the path to NetZero 2050.
“This next investment into the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, alongside the recently launched National Infrastructure Strategy, reaffirms our commitment to working with the private sector, to make these newer technologies available for everyone across the country.”
