'Pop-up' electric vehicle charging points in Oxford ready this autumn

Six of the retractable charging points have now been installed in Lonsdale Road and will be ready for use in the coming months.

Product design company Duku and sister firm Albright IP has developed the EV chargers in collaboration with start-up Urban Electric.

The scheme was announced a year ago after the city council was awarded £474,000 to take part in a pilot to install 20 retractable bollards on streets with on-road parking.

Following the successful bid, residents were encouraged to nominate their street to take part in the trial and Lonsdale Road was then selected.

The move ties in with council’s aim to establish a Zero Emission Zone in the city centre.

Duku director Andrew Aylesbury said: “Without access to charging points the electric car revolution could bypass millions of people, particularly in the inner cities.

“Ironically this demographic is also one of the most likely to use an electric car, with short commutes into local towns or to train stations.”

With six prototype charge points now installed as part of the project’s pilot stage, Duku has overcome many of the design challenges which come with a pop-up system.

These include reducing visual ‘street clutter’ to the shallow depth available below the ground.

Cities including Oxford have a lot of historical architecture and utilities beneath the pavements.

Fellow Duku director Alex Lee added: “Minimising the depth below the ground is one of the big challenges. At the same time, it needs to rise up to a certain level to make it accessible for everyone.”

A range of sensors detect obstacles and monitor the performance of the charge point and this intelligent design eliminates the chance of the equipment coming into contact with a parked car.

Once retracted into the ground, the charge points sit completely flush with the pavement, preventing any trip hazards.

They are then only visible by a ring of light which highlights their position and lets users know of their availability.

Robert Games, managing director at Albright IP, said getting the charging points in the ground was a ‘real milestone’ for the project.

The trial will run for six months.

The Go Ultra Low project, backed by the city and county councils, has seen 100 electric vehicle charging points installed across the city.

Tom Hayes, cabinet member for Zero Carbon Oxford, said: “By trialling the world’s first pop-up on-street chargers, Oxford is freeing our streets of clutter for residents travelling by mobility vehicles or pushing children along in buggies.

“We’re also ensuring that more people can own or drive EVs, especially those who want to switch but just don’t have driveways for off-street charging.”

For more information visit duku.co.uk