Depot Charging Scheme Window 2 Is Open: What a Complete Bid Needs

Window 2 of the government's Depot Charging Scheme opened on 28 October 2026. Applications close on 29 January 2027 and are assessed first come, first served. For a UK fleet operator planning a depot, that turns a funding question into a scheduling question: the earliest complete bids have the best chance.

This article is a working guide to the window itself. For the wider grant landscape, including ZEBRA 2.0, the LEVI Fund and the rules on stacking, see our guide to UK fleet electrification grants.

What Is Confirmed and What Is Not

Most of the scheme's terms for Window 2 are published. One is not: the grant rate. The table separates the two, so you know which numbers you can plan around today.

The window sits inside a £170 million programme that runs to 2030, and around £38 million is available in this window. Treat the 70% figure as a reference point from Window 1, not a promise. We will update this page when the Window 2 rate is published.

Who Can Apply

Window 2 is open to UK commercial fleet operators that own or lease a depot and run, or are bringing in, at least one battery-electric van, HGV or coach. There is no minimum fleet size: one vehicle is enough, and an operator that is still moving to electric vehicles can apply without a full electric fleet in place. Under Window 1, applicants also had to be UK-registered, to have been trading for at least 12 months, and to own the depot or have the landlord's consent. Check the official Window 2 guidance for the final conditions.

There is one application per organisation, and it can cover every depot you want funded. In practice, that means deciding the scope before you submit. A second depot that is missing from the application cannot simply be added through a later one in the same window.

Why First Come, First Served Changes the Plan

A fixed pot assessed in order of arrival rewards preparation. As an illustration of the scale involved, if every applicant asked for the full £1 million cap, a £38 million pool would cover 38 applications. Most bids will be smaller than the cap, but the arithmetic shows why the order of arrival matters.

The practical consequence is that a complete bid in week one is better than a perfect bid in week twelve. The documents that make a bid complete are the ones that take time to produce: a site review, a charger design and a costed project plan. Starting them now is what puts you near the front of the queue.

Neutron dispensers charging buses at a UK depot. Depots like this are the projects the scheme is designed to fund.

Working Back From 31 March 2028

The timeline has four dates, and the last one is the hard constraint.

• 28 October 2026: Window 2 opened.
• 29 January 2027: Window 2 closes, just over three months later.
• April 2027: projects start.
• 31 March 2028: projects must be delivered.

From April 2027 to the deadline is roughly twelve months. Inside that period you need equipment on site, installed and commissioned. This is where supply chain and lead time decide whether a funded project is actually delivered. Neutron's chargers are pre-fabricated, infrastructure-grade DC units built at scale and installation-ready in around three months, which leaves room in a twelve-month delivery period.

The grid is the other variable. Grid connection upgrades are excluded from the grant, but they still sit on your project's critical path. Our guide to depot grid connection costs and DNO timelines covers how long that process takes, and BESS or grid upgrade covers the alternative where a connection is the bottleneck.

Four Steps to a Complete Bid

1. Site review

Start with your vehicles, your power supply and your space. These three facts set every decision that follows, from how many chargers you need to where they can physically go.

2. Design

Decide the number and type of chargers, the installation approach and the overall budget. The cost schedule in your application is built from this design, so it is worth settling before you write anything else.

3. Project plan and grant application

Put the design, the budget and the delivery programme together into one application. Our grants guide covers the site survey, system specification and cost schedule that the submission rests on.

4. Install and support

Chargers need to be in the ground before the deadline, then managed and serviced for the long term. Every Neutron charger is managed remotely through the Electron portal.

Your Installation Method Shapes the Cost Schedule

Because civil works are part of the eligible costs, how a charger is installed affects what you put in the application. Depots are rarely blank sites, so Neutron offers four formats built around the constraints you actually have.

• All-in-one: a self-contained DC charger up to 240 kW, with power and connectors in one unit.
• In-ground: rollover-proof, sits flush when not in use and takes no parking space. The rapid deployment base cuts installation time.
• Drop-down: hangs from a gantry, with the cable coming down from overhead so the floor stays clear.
• Master and child units: a small footprint, where you add or remove chargers as the site grows, up to 480 kW per master unit.

An in-ground Neutron charger at a bus depot. The base plate is driven over when the charger is not in use.

What the Grant Does Not Pay For

The most common planning gap is the grid. The scheme covers chargepoint and civil costs, and grid connection upgrade costs are excluded. If your depot needs a new or upgraded connection, budget for it separately, and start the DNO process early so it does not outlast the delivery deadline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does one Depot Charging Scheme application cover more than one depot?

Yes. Each organisation makes one application, and that application can cover as many depot sites as you need, with a total grant cap of £1 million per organisation. Because there is only one application, every depot you want funded should be scoped before you submit.

Do I need electric vehicles already to apply for Window 2?

Not a full electric fleet. Eligible applicants are UK commercial fleet operators that own or lease a depot and run, or are bringing in, at least one battery-electric van, HGV or coach, and there is no minimum fleet size. Under Window 1, applicants also needed to have traded for at least 12 months and to own the depot or have the landlord's consent.

Does the Depot Charging Scheme pay for a grid connection upgrade?

No. The grant covers chargepoint and civil works costs. Grid connection upgrades are excluded, so the DNO application and its cost need to be planned and funded separately from the grant.

What does first come, first served mean for Window 2?

Applications are assessed in the order they are received rather than ranked against each other at the close. The window runs from 28 October 2026 to 29 January 2027, but a complete application submitted early is assessed before one submitted late, so an incomplete early bid gains nothing.

When do Window 2 projects have to be delivered?

Projects are expected to start in April 2027 and must be delivered by 31 March 2028. That gives roughly twelve months from start to completion, so equipment lead times and any grid works need to fit inside that period.

Is the Window 2 grant rate 70%?

Not confirmed. 70% of chargepoint and civil costs was the Window 1 rate, and the Window 2 rate is still to be confirmed. Budget on the Window 1 rate as a reference point only, and expect the final figure to be published by government.