In a major fillip to Ireland’s electric vehicle recharging infrastructure, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan announced on Friday that a total of 131 new high-powered recharging points will be installed across 17 recharging pools along major roads.
Each of these recharging pools will provide banks of fast and ultra-fast recharging points, the Department of Transport said in a statement, adding that the initiative will promote sustainable transportation.
Following the installation of the infrastructure, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, the average distance between recharging pools along the routes will be 45 km.
Commenting on the move, Minister Ryan said: “EVs are an important part of our journey to reducing emissions in the transport sector. They are cleaner, better cars, but we want to provide extra certainty to people either using an EV now or thinking about getting one in the future. Putting in place these banks of high-powered recharging points is an important first step in our commitment to people and to a more sustainable transport system.”
“We will follow this up with many other schemes to ensure people know that they can charge their cars easily. This will complement our other commitments, such as the EV purchase grant scheme, which will remain unchanged next year, our grants for home chargers, and the continued VRT reduction for EVs. With the greater choice and price competitiveness on the market, we hope more and more people will be encouraged to choose electric.”
The infrastructure will be built by private businesses that will receive a grant from the Department of Transport.