Short Summary on: Metal trees with a seven-meter canopy of solar panels that generate electricity may soon be coming to car parks and shopping malls in the UK. The structures, which will capture the sun’s energy through nano photovoltaic “leaves” and could store it in a battery placed within the tree’s trunk, were designed by British startup SolarBotanic Trees as a power source for charging electric vehicles (EV). The company recently completed a half-scale prototype of the device and is now looking to build and test a full-size version, before beginning commercial production at the end of the year. In the UK, EV charging infrastructure is rapidly growing, with more than 40,000 public charging points installed by the end of April 2023, up 37% from the previous year, according to ZapMap, an EV mapping service. But this still does not keep up with demand, with the UK’s Climate Change Committee estimating that 325,000 charging points will be needed by 2032 to support the growing electric fleet. “There’s a massive shortfall of (charging) infrastructure in this country, so we are looking to work hand in glove with the EV infrastructure providers,” says Chris Shelley, CEO of SolarBotanic Trees. He adds that the company has already received its first order of 200 trees from the Raw Charging Group, a supplier of EV charging infrastructure, which plans to incorporate the trees as part of its network of charging sites rolled out across the UK and Europe.