BP Pulse opens UK’s most powerful electric car charging station. Subscribe to Electric Vehicle News Bitesize Podcast for FREE to hear more!
Northamptonshire site opens as BP enters major new partnership to accelerate fast charger adoption across Europe.
Oil major BP’s electric vehicle (EV) charging arm, BP Pulse, today cut the ribbon on its largest and most powerful UK charging centre to date.
The company has officially opened its new centre in Kettering, Northamptonshire, which houses ten 300kW chargers with a total installed capacity of 3 MegaWatts. The facility can charge up to 20 cars simultaneously at 150 kiloWatts, with each car able to charge 100 miles in about 15 minutes.
“We are thrilled to introduce another hub here in the UK,” said Akira Kirton, vice president, BP Pulse UK. “It’s our largest and most powerful Electric Vehicle charging hub yet.
“Customers say power is more important than the number of charging points. That’s why we’re focussing on expanding our ultra-fast charging infrastructure, using the latest technology to ensure reliability, and designed to keep up with the charging speeds of vehicle batteries as they advance. At BP Pulse we believe the Electric Vehicle charging network the UK needs will be delivered through Electric Vehicle charging in the right location, at the right time, and at the right speed.”
The hub was developed for BP Pulse by The Electric Vehicle Network, which is set to deliver a number of further sites for the energy giant in the coming months. “We are working together on other exciting projects which will go live over the next few months,” said Reza Shaybani, co-founder and chief executive of The Electric Vehicle Network. “This project is in a key geographic location and provides access to well lit, ultra-fast charging. Bringing large sites like this to the public is of paramount importance to us, to be able to shift the UK driver’s confidence in Electric Vehicle charging reliability and availability.”
BP Pulse says it is also currently building an additional hub in the West Midlands, which will contain 16 ultra-fast 300kW chargers capable of charging 32 EVs simultaneously. It added that it intends to open hundreds of additional charging points elsewhere in the UK by the end of 2030 as part of a £1bn investment plan.
The news caps off a busy few days for BP Pulse, which earlier this week announced a pan-European partnership with APCOA Parking Group that is expected to open more than 100 fast charging stations for electric vehicles across the continent.
As part of the agreement, BP Pulse plans to install ultra-fast charging at APCOA car parks in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK over the next three years to support its plans to expand its charging network in city centres.
In the third quarter of this year, two new “urban hubs” are planned to open in Berlin and Bremen, Germany, offering ultra-fast charging capable of charging at least six cars 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
“This agreement will help us to build our Electric Vehicle charging network across Europe by offering customers the fastest and most convenient Electric Vehicle hub charging experience,” said Stefan von Dobschuetz, general manager Europe at BP Pulse. “By working with APCOA, we’re bringing the future of parking, charging and services for urban life in one place.”
Yesterday, BP and Spanish energy giant Iberdrola signed a new strategic alliance aimed at mobilizing €1 billion in investments to deploy 11,700 fast charging points in Spain and Portugal.
The strategic alliance marks a step toward the formation of a full-scale joint venture between the two companies, subject to the required regulatory and competition approvals, which are expected in the second half of 2023.
“This strategic alliance enables progress in the electrification of transport as a key element to reduce energy dependence on fossil fuels and increase energy efficiency,” said Executive Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán. “With this agreement, Iberdrola and BP contribute to the accelerated deployment of electric vehicles while investing in the industrial development of the Iberian Peninsula”.
His comments were echoed by Bernard Looney, CEO of BP, who said partnerships within the energy sector “can help people and businesses decarbonise sooner”.
“By pooling our resources and expertise, we can deploy lower carbon mobility solutions at scale for our customers,” he said. “We have great respect for Iberdrola, who has been one of the first companies to lead the energy transition, and I believe this agreement will bring significant benefits to both our customers and our partners.”
Under the agreement, the energy major plans to install and operate 5,000 fast-charging points on the Iberian Peninsula by 2025, rising to almost 12,000 by 2030.
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