Pioneering the future of on-street EV charging in Oxford

Context

Urban Fox collaborated with Oxford City Council (OCC) on a ground-breaking trial of our flagship UEone, an on-street, retractable fast charger. We installed six of our Mk1 UEone, single socket chargepoints in the Summertown area to the north of the city.

The initiative, dubbed the ‘OxPops’ trial, was conducted in partnership with Co-wheels Car Club and product design agency Duku with an aim to rapidly trial and update the prototype charger. The project was funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and administered by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.

Following the success of the trial, we received subsequent grant funding to develop and trial new versions of the UEone in Dundee, Plymouth and Staffordshire County Councils. We were also given a loan to develop further iterations of the chargepoint.

Overcoming challenges and residents concerns

In collaboration with OCC, we engaged in a thorough resident engagement process. Initially, some residents were very reluctant to have EV charging infrastructure installed in residential streets and this caused significant delays to the project. We worked closely with OCC to inform and educate residents and address their concerns via town hall meetings, and on-going face-to-face and online engagement.

After we successfully got the community onboard with the project, further challenges arose. The three charging hub sites proposed by residents and shortlisted by the council were deemed unsuitable due to the cost of grid connections. We then engaged with the distribution network operator (DNO) to shortlist additional locations from which the final site was selected.

The technology’s early-stage nature also brought technical challenges related to the chargepoint’s retractable component and its performance during heavy rainfall. Our dedicated product development team swiftly addressed these challenges and rapidly developed solutions during the trial process.

User satisfaction and social value

The OxPops trial proved to be a resounding success and led to subsequent grant funding support from Innovate UK for more trials, totalling more than £5 million. The project was completed on budget, albeit with a six-month extension to the initial timeline, primarily due to the time dedicated to resident engagement and grid connection establishment.

Proactive engagement and resident feedback played a pivotal role in transforming initial opposition into a high 84% approval rating for our retractable charging hubs due to the UEone’s minimal streetscape impact and its accessibility.

The project was a testament to our commitment to innovation, sustainability and community engagement. Furthermore, the partnership with Oxford Direct Services, a local firm, not only supported local employment but also minimised vehicle travel and associated emissions, contributing to a cleaner and greener future.