Balfour Beatty Investments expects to invest up to £60m in the partnership to fund the rollout of up to 35,000 innovative retractable charge points across the UK over the next decade.

Its 7kW on-street chargepoint is the first of its kind to the market. Installed into the pavement, the unit is fully retractable underground leaving pavements clutter-free and accessible when not in use.

With 43% of British households without access to off-street parking, Urban Fox said its quick installation and replacement process allows additional chargepoints to be easily installed as demand dictates.

Urban Fox will offer local authorities a whole-life solution to EV chargepoints: funding, building, operating and maintaining a range of fast, rapid and slow chargepoints.

The launch of Urban Fox follows five years of product development and testing of the retractable charging unit across Oxford, Dundee and Plymouth City Councils, as well as Staffordshire County Council. The pilots indicated that Urban Fox’s unique retractable chargers can be installed in 80% of streets.

Gavin Russell, CEO Balfour Beatty Investments, said: “In order to achieve the Government’s 2050 Net Zero strategy, it’s imperative that alternative energy sources are widely available and accessible.

“Balfour Beatty’s close and long-standing relationships with local authorities across the length and breadth of the UK make us well able to tackle the challenge head on; putting our unrivalled capability in providing green infrastructure for communities and our innovative, collaborative spirit to good use.”