Siemens unveils UK’s first converted ‘Electric Avenue’.

Siemens has unveiled the UK’s first street that has been fully converted for charging electric vehicles.

Over half a mile in length, the avenue ‘Electric Avenue, W9’ in Westminster has been turned into an electric vehicle charging haven with lampposts acting as charging points.

The venture, which has seen Siemens collaborate with ubitricity and Westminster City Council has successfully converted 24 lampposts into electric vehicle charging points using the city’s existing infrastructure. Residents can now charge their electric cars at various locations along Sutherland Avenue in London. Two further adjoining roads are due to be completed in the coming weeks.

The collaborative project follows research conducted by Siemens which showed that over a third of British motorists planned to buy a hybrid or electric vehicle as their next car. Other results showed that 40% said that a lack of charging points stopped them from making the switch sooner.

The project has been completed in collaboration with Westminster City Council, which has set a target of having 1,000 charge points installed by 2020.

Cedrik Neike, Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG and CEO of Siemens Smart Infrastructure, said: “We know that half of London’s air pollution is caused by road transport and Westminster is a particularly busy area. While we cannot solve the challenge of air quality overnight, ‘Electric Avenue W9’ is an important showcase of what’s possible using existing city infrastructure. It illustrates how residential streets will look in the near future, and accelerates the shift to zero emission vehicles."

Andrew Smith, Westminster City Council Cabinet Member for Environment & Highways, said: “In a city that suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the country, we need to be supporting the change to green technology as much as we can. Electric Avenue, W9’ gives us a glimpse into the future of streets in Westminster, where we hope to provide the infrastructure needed for our residents to make the switch to cleaner, greener transport.”

23 March 2020

Climate Action