EMBARGO 9AM BST, 1 OCTOBER: Cable thieves upgraded their tools. New cut protection has upgraded the defence.

New V4 cut protection option for CableGuard® protects UK charge point operators from £thousands of losses at their highest-risk sites by making cable theft prohibitive, even for organised criminals using angle-grinders and other power tools.

Canterbury, UK, 1 October 2026: CableGuard®, the EV cable theft prevention and deterrent from Formula Space, has launched a new V4 cut protection option for charge point operators (CPOs) facing the most severe cable theft attacks.

The upgrade is engineered specifically to defeat the increasing number of thieves forming part of organised crime groups, who are undertaking more brazen attacks using angle grinders and other power tools.

Cable theft has become a board-level issue for charge point operators, with the cost of a stolen cable estimated to be £1,200 for the hardware alone. The cost to UK CPOs totals millions of pounds since 2022, while in Europe, 650 electric vehicle charging stations in France have been targeted since the beginning of the year, causing an estimated €13 million in damage and losses.

Vern Pollard, cable theft response expert and director at Formula Space, said, "Operators tell us the problem isn’t just the theft, it’s the escalation in the severity of the attack and the extent of the damage. As thieves get more sophisticated, CPOs need us to apply the same thinking to the theft prevention solutions we create. V4 cut protection is our direct answer to that: a new technology that not only protects cables from being taken in high-risk areas but also acts as a deterrent for the future."

The V4 cable sleeve effectively renders useless power tools used during an attack, by blunting the tools effectiveness. It changes the economics of a cable attack: turning a job that once took seconds into a slow, costly and highly conspicuous activity. The sleeve is fully retrofit, installs in 20 minutes, and has been verified by leading charger manufacturers including Nidec, Wallbox and Kempower.

Lee Barnett, solutions and service manager, UK & Ireland at Kempower, commented: “A key element to driving forward the EV transition is instilling in people a feeling of trust and confidence in available charging infrastructure. Rising crime involving charging cables is damaging both to EV charging businesses and to public perceptions and experience. We chose to lead the way and become Formula Space’s testing partner for CableGuard so we could offer our customers and partners a solution we truly believe in and to uphold our overall mission of supporting the transition to clean transportation.”

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Editors notes

About CableGuard

CableGuard® is the industry-leading EV cable theft protection system, developed and engineered by Formula Space. It is the UK's first and most widely deployed EV cable theft deterrence system, and is already installed across thousands of sites globally and adopted by operators including TotalEnergies, Atlante, InstaVolt, Allego, E.ON, RAW Charging and Sainsbury's Smart Charge.

About Formula Space

Formula Space is an end-to-end specialist in EV charging site infrastructure, helping charge point operators across the UK and Europe to design, build, maintain and secure high-performing charging sites. Its services span operator branding, bay marking, signage, solar canopies and theft deterrence, delivered as a single-source model that helps operators prioritise user experience, reliability and long-term operational efficiency.

More information: https://formula-space.com/