Electric vehicle chargepoints at Premier League grounds assessed

A new report from Charge My Street has analysed the number of electric vehicle chargepoints around Premier League football stadiums.

The aim of the report, conducted as part of the SOSCI project, was to understand how CO2 emissions can be reduced by fans visiting football stadia of Premier League teams by using EV charging points at the stadium.

The report also set out to discover the current impact of large sporting events on the environment, analyse the current EV charging infrastructure surrounding Premier League football grounds, and understand why there is a lack of EV infrastructure surrounding Premier League grounds.

The report found that – while car manufacturers are using football to promote the switch to EVs – the reality for fans is quite different, with availability of charging points depending on the affluence of the area where the stadium is located.

Using data from Zap-Map, the Innovate UK funded SOSCI project analysed current charge point infrastructure within a mile radius of Premier League football stadiums.

Out of all the football teams in the Premier League, Chelsea leads the way in terms of the numbers of EV chargepoints with 20, in front of West Ham, (18), Wolverhampton Wanderers (14), and Newcastle United (12).

Watford (12), Arsenal (11) and Manchester United (11) are the only other clubs with double figures in terms of chargepoints. At the bottom of the table are Liverpool (1), Aston Villa (0) and Everton (0).

However, while Chelsea may be top of the EV League, each charge point is shared by 586 match-going fans, compared to Brentford’s 330.

In light of the data captured, the report recommended that clubs must work with their supporters, residents and Local Authorities to identify local sites for charging points, as well as work with supporters and local people to understand what benefits there will be to their community to transition away from petrol and diesel vehicles. The report also recommended that clubs should work with local community charge point operators to identify sites and potentially retrofit existing car parks to include charge points.

Daniel Heery, director at Charge my Street, said: “We need to see Clubs, Local Authorities and residents working together to get more charge points installed near grounds and help fans make the switch to electric vehicles.”