To combat issues of range anxiety for EV owners, a network of more than 50 high-powered ‘Electric Hubs’, 300 rapid chargers at 150 motorways services, and over 100 Electric Forecourts will be rolled out across the UK as part of an ‘Electric Highway’.
GRIDSERVE, the company behind the Electric Highway, is creating the UK-wide sustainable energy powered electric vehicle charging network.
In six weeks since acquiring the Electric Highway from Ecotricity, GRIDSERVE has installed new 60kW+ chargers at over 50 locations – from Land’s End to John O’Groats – a rate of around two new charging locations every day. The entire network of almost 300 old Ecotricity chargers at more than 150 locations on motorways and IKEA stores is on track to be replaced by September, enabling any type of EV to charge with contactless payment options, and doubling the number of simultaneous charging sessions by offering dual charging from single chargers.
In addition, more than 50 high-powered ‘Electric Hubs’, featuring 6-12 x 350kW chargers will be delivered at motorway sites across the UK, a program that will see an additional investment, expected to exceed £100m. GRIDSERVE Electric Highway’s first Motorway Electric Hub – a bank of 12 high power 350kW GRIDSERVE Electric Highway chargers alongside 12 x Tesla Superchargers was opened to the public in April at Rugby Services and is the UK’s largest high power motorway charging site. It will act as a blueprint for all future sites, with more than 10 new Electric Hubs, each featuring 6-12 high power 350kW chargers per location, expected to be completed this year – starting with motorways services deployments in Reading (East and West), Thurrock, and Exeter, and Cornwall Services.
All chargers operated by GRIDSERVE are supported by net zero solar energy delivered by its ‘sun-to-wheel’ infrastructure – a network of grid-scale hybrid solar farms which ensure that every kW taken from the grid by EV charging infrastructure is netted off against zero-carbon kWs of solar energy put back into the grid.
Toddington Harper, CEO of GRIDSERVE, said:
“Vehicle technology has incrementally improved however still remains noisy, polluting and is ultimately detrimental to a stable climate. Now, in just a few years, we will see one of the most rapid and far-reaching revolutions in the history of transport. The GRIDSERVE Electric Highway charging network that will help to deliver that exciting future.”
“GRIDSERVE’s purpose is to deliver sustainable energy and move the needle on climate change, and the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway – a network of easy-to-use, reliable, rapid and high power chargers right across the UK – is doing just that, eliminating charging anxiety and making driving electric an enjoyable, ultra-convenient and stress-free experience. We’re working at a phenomenal pace to rollout cutting-edge charging infrastructure and will continue to move heaven and earth to install new chargers en-mass in as many locations as we can, and as quickly as possible.”
All sites will continue to charge on a price per kWh of energy used basis. The price to charge at Electric Hubs is 30p per kW – enabling a typical EV to add 200 miles of range for as little as £15, and £24p/kWh at Electric Forecourts, so just £12.
