The grants are part of a £63m funding package, announced two days ago, aimed at supercharging Britain’s electric vehicle infrastructure.

The £30m depot charging scheme provides partial funding for fleet operators to install charging points at their depots as part of the government’s broader strategy to accelerate the uptake of zero-emission HGVs, vans, and coaches.

The scheme covers 75% of the charge point and civil costs incurred, up to a maximum of £1m across all sites. There is no limit to the number of sites operators can apply for, but the scheme is limited to one application per organisation.

The scheme is open to public and private sector fleets, local authorities and non-profit organisations, located in England, Scotland, Wales and/or Northern Ireland.

The application window will close on 28 November 2025, or when funding has been exhausted, and works must be completed by 31 March 2026.

Eligible costs supported through the grant cover the purchase cost of charge points of any type or speed, which must match operators’ specific fleet and duty cycle requirements.

The costs of labour and materials required for the installation and energisation of the charge points are also supported, including civil engineering work, electrical components and electrical contractor works.

However, the cost of electric vehicles and grid connections is excluded from the scope of eligible expenditure.

Operators will need to provide supportive quotes to evidence predictive costs and evidence sufficient financing to meet the match-funding requirements.

The reasonableness of costs provided will be assessed against site and fleet requirements.

In claiming the grant, operators must ensure they do not apply for or receive any duplicate funding for the funded activities.

The grant cannot be used to fund infrastructure installed before the effective date of the Grant Funding Agreement.

In addition, commercial vehicles must be the primary users of the funded charging infrastructure, and the financed charging infrastructure may be shared with other local operators, subject to meeting specific pricing requirements outlined in the Grant Funding Agreement.

Commenting on the news, RHA MD, Richard Smith said: “We welcome this support from the government to help operators invest in their depots, as overcoming the costs of net zero remains a significant barrier for our industry.

“Without the ability to charge at depot, we’re not going to see the introduction of electric HGVs, coaches and vans at the pace required. This funding is a welcome start, but much more needs to be done if planned net-zero targets are to be met.”

“We seek urgent clarity on how the £2.6bn announced by the Government in last month’s Spending Review will be allocated to help operators decarbonise. We also urgently need to see how hydrogen-powered lorries and coaches can provide the solutions for hard-to-decarbonise operations which electric vehicles cannot currently cater for, such as long-distance and heavy haulage operations.”

Grant applications can be made here.