Believ has installed the first chargepoint in a £21m scheme that will see 6,000 devices rolled out across Suffolk. The project follows an unprecedented £300m funding boost given to Believ by a number of banks and investment firms in June last year.
The company is spending £16m on the Suffolk County Council project, with a further £5.3m coming from taxpayers via the government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund.
Rather than constructing ultra-rapid hubs, Believ focuses predominantly on slower, on-street chargers targeting residents without driveways, an approach that echoes the government’s most recent thinking on the subject. In November the firm announced a similar, albeit smaller-scale, partnership with North Lincolnshire Council involving 470 sockets.
The first plug of the Suffolk project has been installed on Ashley Street in Ipswich, and features reduced tariffs for local residents.
Believ lost £10.8m after tax in 2024. The firm was founded in 2019 when it was known as Liberty Charge. The company is co-owned by British-Dutch-American telecommunications firm Liberty Global and private-equity firm Zouk Capital, which also manages the government’s £400m Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund.
Guy Bartlett, Believ’s chief executive, says the Suffolk scheme support’s the council’s “climate goals”, and that “by making EV charging infrastructure more accessible, and therefore the EV switch easier, it benefits the residents across the county.
Councillor Richard Rout from Suffolk County says the Believ project is being done “in a measured way, ensuring no on-street parking is lost and not imposing any restrictions – meaning, whatever car they drive, residents can continue to park outside their homes.”
