BT plans to upcycle 60,000 street cabinets into EV chargers

Ever walked past one of those metal street cabinets housing cables for internet and phone lines? Well, it may soon be turned into an electric-car charger as BT has begun its pioneering campaign to transform over 60,000 of its UK cabinets into roadside EV chargers.

Announced in late 2023, BT Group’s new pilot scheme will be rolled out over the next couple of years, with the British telecommunications giant now confirming its first installation will take place in just a couple of weeks in East Lothian, Scotland. 

BT says more UK locations will open in the coming months of 2024, with all of the supplied energy being 100% renewable. However, the firm also admits there are still questions regarding technical limitations, civil planning and whether this will be a solo venture, or a combined effort with pre established chargepoint operators.

CEO of Etc (BT Group’s experimental arm), Tom Guy applauded the recent announcement, saying: “This is a key step in our mission to build products and services right now that work for the future, with positive transformation at the heart.

“Our new charging solution is a huge step in bringing EV charging kerbside and exploring how we can address key barriers customers are currently facing. Working closely with local councils in Scotland and more widely across the UK, we are at a critical stage of our journey in tackling a very real customer problem that sits at the heart of our wider purpose to connect for good.”

This news comes soon after the government missed its target of every motorway service station having 10 rapid chargers, in order to meet booming demand. While BT’s new charging solution is of a much slower variety, presumably offering a speed of around 7kW, the 60,000 additional charge points will go a long way to contributing towards the UK’s goal of 300,000 public chargepoints by 2030.