Depot Charging Scheme

Organisation and site(s)

To apply for this grant:

• You must be a registered fleet operator, operate in the UK, and have been doing so for at least 1 year at the time of the application.

• You must own your depot or have consent from your landlord for chargepoints to be installed at the site(s) listed in the application.

• You must own, lease, or order at least 1 battery electric van, HGV and/or coach as part of your vehicle fleet.

• You must be able to complete the installation of chargepoints at your depot site(s) by 31 March 2026.

• You must have sufficient grid capacity at your depot site(s) to support charging by 31 March 2026.

• You must be able to provide evidence that you meet any of the requirements and criteria. Evidence required is set out in detail in the supporting information tab.

• A senior leadership member in your organisation must have signed off on your infrastructure installation proposal.

There are no limits to the number of sites you can apply for as long as they meet the criteria. All sites should be covered by the same application. The scheme is available in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is not available in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

Eligible expenditure

The Department will fund up to 75% of eligible costs, up to a total of £1 million across all sites. Eligible costs supported through the grant are:

• The purchase cost of Charge Points of any type or speed - these will need to match your specific fleet and duty cycle requirements;

• The costs of labour and materials required for the installation and energisation of the Charge Points including civil engineering work, electrical components and electrical contractor works.

The cost of electric vehicles and grid connections are excluded from the scope of eligible expenditure.

You 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 this grant, you must ensure you do not apply for or receive any duplicate funding for the funded activities. This grant cannot be used to fund infrastructure installed prior to the effective date of the Grant Funding Agreement.

Other requirements:

• Commercial vehicles must be the primary users of the funded charging infrastructure.

• Funded charging infrastructure may be shared with other local operators, subject to meeting specific pricing requirements as set out in the Grant Funding Agreement.

The Government is supporting the road freight and coach industry to decarbonise their fleets and journeys. By kickstarting the installation of charging infrastructure at depots and providing funding where costs are commercially unviable, the Government is supporting the roll out of zero emission commercial vehicles. 

The depot charging scheme will work hand in hand with the existing vehicle incentives for zero emission vans and HGVs. By part-funding both the vehicle and the infrastructure, the Government seeks to support operators in installing reliable charging infrastructure at their depots for any battery-electric vehicle purchased.

• Scheme launch: 16 July 2025

• Scheme close: The grant will close either when funding has been exhausted or by 28 November 2025 (whichever is sooner).

• Monitoring and claims window opens: 1 September 2025

• All infrastructure works to be completed: 31 March 2026

• Monitoring and claim window closes: 31 May 2026

Eligible applicants are invited to apply to the scheme by clicking “Start new application” above.

You will be assessed to gauge an understanding of:

• Your business, its services, location(s) and leasehold status.

• Your current and expected future uptake of battery electric vans, HGVs and coaches.

• Any existing charging infrastructure (Note: Existing infrastructure or lack thereof is not a prerequisite for eligibility to the scheme) and charging infrastructure needs.

• Predictive project costs.

Following a review of your initial submission, eligible applications will be invited to a second stage review. Here you will be asked to build upon your previous submission and further detail your permissions, plans, costs and financing. A full delivery plan and budget breakdown will be required.

Successful applicants will be informed and invited to sign the Department's Grant Funding Agreement. Please note that during the application process you agree to sign up to the terms of the Grant Funding Agreement, without amendment.

Where an applicant has not been successful at stage 2, they will be permitted to appeal the decision, and at the Department's discretion, be given the opportunity to re-work their infrastructure plan.

During and following delivery of their infrastructure projects, grantees will be invited to claim for the costs of chargepoints and civil works in arrears, with all works being completed no later than 31 March 2026.

More detailed information on how to apply to the grant alongside the requested evidence at each application stage is available in the supporting information tab.

Support: 

If you have any questions about your application, you can email the mailbox at:  ggms_depot_cs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Where necessary, applicants may request additional support in drafting their second stage infrastructure plans from the grant's appointed advisors. Requests for support should be directed to ggms_depot_cs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

Supporting Documents: