OZEV Grants for State-Funded Schools

The new OZEV grant -Workplace Charging Scheme for state-funded education institutions has been announced by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV). The new grant is currently available to Schools in the UK until 31st March 2025. So now is the perfect time to claim 75% of the installation of EV charging in your School.

In February 2024, the UK Government announced funding of £381 million to help local authorities install more EV charging points. A large amount of this money has been made available for state-funded schools.

Under the amended OZEV grant, the government will cover up to 75% of the cost of buying and installing EV charging points for schools, up to £2,500 per charging point. Previously the government only subsidised up to £350 per charging point, which is a huge increase and shows why now is the perfect time for Schools to make the jump across to EV.

The school EV charging grant is open to all state-funded schools including academies, colleges, nurseries, and special schools.

This grant is for state-funded schools and education institutions to install electric vehicle chargepoint sockets at their site(s).

Installations usually cost around £1,500 to £2,500, depending on the area and type of installation.

You can get 75% off the cost to buy and install chargepoints up to a maximum of:

• £2,500 per socket
• 40 sockets across all sites including any applications made previously via the Workplace Charging Scheme

You will need to confirm that you meet all the criteria in the application form.

What is the criteria?

• An existing or future need for charging an electric vehicle
• Designated off-street parking facilities that are clearly associated with your premises (the parking may be used by customers, guests, visitors, staff or others)
• Had a site survey done by an installer, who has confirmed that your site can support EV charging – This is where NSNev get involved
• Not have applied for a grant for the same chargepoint under the EV infrastructure grant for staff and fleets or any other grant scheme
• Have the authority to apply for the Workplace Charging Scheme on behalf of your organisation
• Received less that £315,000 in minimal financial assistance over the past 3 fiscal years

Academy trusts can apply for up to the maximum of 40 sockets for each institution within the academy trust, meaning they can claim up to £100k per site.

What are the objectives?

The Office of Zero Emission Vehicles has 1 major objective with this large incentive:

-To accelerate the uptake of electric charge-points for state-funded education institutions-

The more EV chargers installed in Schools and Trusts across the UK and Cornwall, the easier it will be for drivers to jump across to electric vehicles and meet the Governments Zero Emission target.

Why would a School need EV charging?

• Available for staff to charge while they work. Staff are in School all day, plenty of time for a car to fully charge.
• Ready for future School fleet vehicles to be swapped over to electric and then easily charged up ready for school excursions.
• Create another revenue stream for Schools. Open the EV chargers to the public out of School hours for the public to pay to use the EV chargers through a simple app payment or contactless machine.
• Make money from excess solar production and sell it through EV chargers charging electric vehicles

Conclusion:

Now is the best time for Schools and Academy Trusts to invest in EV charging for their sites. With the Government and OZEV offering such high grant contributions, now more than ever is the perfect time to get EV chargers installed at Schools. This only runs until March 2025, so the clock is ticking to make the most of this.

Electric vehicles aren’t going away so we must all make the most of the incentives to take it on!