How to access the LEVI fund to boost your EV charging strategy
What is the LEVI Scheme? The Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Scheme (LEVI) is a £450m scheme announced by the UK government in March 2022 as part of their electric vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Strategy.
Open to local authorities in England, LEVI Fund is designed to encourage the planning and roll-out of EV charging infrastructure across the UK through large-scale, ambitious and commercially sustainable projects that use significant private sector investment.
The LEVI fund will target projects such as EV hubs and innovative on-street charging. Before the full fund is launched, OZEV have announced that 16 local authorities will be benefit from £56m of initial funding in a pilot to test the scheme.
NEWS: We have released a more in-depth guide on how to make the most out of the LEVI fund.
What LEVI funding is available for local authorities now?
The LEVI fund is £450 Million total. It is expected that £50 million of this will be used to fund staff and tools to help local authority EV charging strategies and plans.
In February 2023 it was announced that £8 million of the scheme would be directed towards the LEVI capability fund which will equip local authorities with the skills and ambition to scale up their plans when it comes to their charging strategy.
LEVI capability funding allocation
The LEVI Capability Fund is available to Tier 1 local authorities in England, specifically county councils, unitary authorities and combined authorities. Combined authorities will be allocated and issued aggregated funding on behalf of authorities in their region. There will be a bespoke approach for London that involves Transport for London and London councils. The aim of the scheme is to enable every Tier 1 local authority to have a published EV infrastructure strategy for its area.
The LEVI support body will contact eligible local authorities in February 2023 and notify them of their Capability Fund allocation. After this, local authorities will have to complete and submit a proforma to the LEVI support body by the 10th March 2023. The proforma should include a plan on how the local authority aims to use the funding. It is expected that upon approval, the local authority will be issued with its first payment before the end of the 22/23 financial year.
LEVI Pilot Scheme Summary
When the LEVI scheme was announced, OZEV revealed that 9 local authorities would benefit from £10m of initial funding in a pilot to test the scheme.
In February 2023 it was announced a further £56 million would be added to the pilot, alongside the exapansion of the scheme to include 16 new pilot scheme areas. The full list of approved projects is below:
- £200,000 to Buckinghamshire
- £1.9 million to Cumbria
- £1 million to Hackney
- £2.3 million to Harborough
- £1.8 million to Hounslow
- £600,000 to Lancashire
- £1.6 million to Norfolk
- £1.6 million to Oxfordshire
- £1.6 million to Rotherham
- £800,000 to Sunderland
- £2.5 million to Waltham Forest
- £1 million to Warwickshire
- £8.5 million to West Midlands
- £2.9 million to West Sussex
- £3 million to West Yorkshire
- £1.9 million to York
- £7.4 million to Durham
- £4.4 million to Barnet
- £3.6 million to North Yorkshire
Eligibility for the LEVI funding pilot scheme
The LEVI pilot scheme is now closed for applications, the pilot funding has been awarded to 16 local authorities. The LEVI funding pilot scheme was open to all local authorities in England as well as partnerships led by a local authority within England.
ORCS funding is available for LAs right now
ORCS (On-street Residential Charging Scheme) funding is available right now for local authorities to deliver charging infrastructure.
Rather than wait for the next round of LEVI applications, which are unlikely to provide charge point installations until 2024, ORCS grants are already available to aid installation costs.
Read more about how local authorities and ubitricity can work together now to deploy charging infrastructure at zero cost below:
Need support?
Our team are here to help
Haven’t finalised your EV charging strategy yet? Need more resources to manage the procurement of EV chargers? or have questions on how to deploy your on-street EV charge points?
Our expert ubitricity team are happy to support you in all aspects of EV charging infrastructure.