SOUTH West College was recently announced as one of seven programme partners on a new initiative designed to increase access to public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs) in a bid to encourage reduced carbon emissions.

The college's participation is part of the FASTER project, which is seeing the introduction of 73 rapid charging points for EVs across Northern Ireland, the Border region of the Republic of Ireland, and Western Scotland, thanks to €6.4 million funding under the Special EU Programmes Body's INTERREG VA programme.

The project is working with local and district councils across the three jurisdictions to identify suitable locations for this much needed infrastructure, which will help support public charging access for EVs.

Locally, South West College is taking the lead on the behavioural change aspect of the project, developing promotional campaigns and initiatives to address public concerns with existing EV charging infrastructure, and producing materials to support the transition to low-emission vehicles.

The FASTER charging network will be installed on a phased basis across the jurisdictions over the next 18 months, supported by a series of public awareness and community engagement events.

A public survey was recently carried out to analyse current driver behaviours and public attitudes towards EVs across each of the project's three jurisdictions, with 1,500 responses received helping to provide direction for much of the public engagement activity, moving forward.

Commenting on South West College’s role in the initiative, FASTER Project Officer, Donal Monaghan, said: “The college is delighted to be a partner on the FASTER project.

"The college is one of the UK’s leading educational institutions in the area of renewable energy research, and has a wealth of experience working with project partners across Europe on emerging technologies and sustainability.

"The sales of EVs ehicles are increasing locally and globally, and we need to ensure that the infrastructure to support this transition is in place to help drivers overcome any anxieties they may have.

"As the UK government gets set to introduce a ban on the sale of new petrol- and diesel-fuelled cars by 2030, now is the time to introduce local and regional drivers to the benefits of EVs and, in turn, help reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the worst effects of climate change,” he added.