Electric Highway, the UK's first nationwide charging network, has launched the first ultra-fast charging site under its new partnership with Gridserve, which acquired 25% in the network.
The site is located at MOTO’s brand-new Rugby services at Junction 1 of the M6 and offers a total of 12 ultra-fast charging stalls (350 kW each). The chargers were supplied by Tritium.
It's game-changing for Electric Highway, which entered into the EV game early, but then faded behind with old 50 kW chargers and poorreliability.
Now, the old chargers will be replaced with new ones (more reliable, higher power and with two power outputs), and on top of that, the company will install new 350 kW ultra-fast chargers (6-12 per site).
"As part of the major Electric Highway transformation programme – funded by GRIDSERVE investor Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC – all existing 50kW pumps will be replaced this summer while in parallel, work has begun on high power installations across its entire network. "
In the background, we can see Tesla Superchargers:
Time will tell how this new charging infrastructure will be perceived by users. There is a chance that it will be strong support for the development of the EV market.
Toddington Harper, CEO of Gridserve, said:
“GRIDSERVE’s purpose is to deliver sustainable energy and move the needle on climate change, and the rollout of high power chargers across Britain’s motorways in partnership with Moto will do just that – providing drivers with the confidence to go electric today.
“To see what the future of electric vehicle charging on the UK motorway network looks like, you can now visit Moto’s new Motorway Service Area at Rugby. After announcing our Electric Highway partnership with Ecotricity in March, and supported by Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, we’ve been hard at work putting in the charging infrastructure needed to give people the confidence to make the transition to electric vehicles, by delivering 6-12 high power 350kW chargers across the network as quickly as possible, as well as replacing all the existing chargers with the latest technology.”
Dale Vince, Founder, The Electric Highway, added:
“We began building the Electric Highway ten years ago and Moto were one of our founding partners. Back then, state-of-the-art charging was just 7kW and here we are today at 350kW in just a decade. This is our very first high power installation, and this new technology comes just at a tipping point in the adoption of electric vehicles.
“This marks the beginning of our new partnership with GRIDSERVE, and kickstarts a comprehensive programme where these installations will become ubiquitous on the motorway network, helping to make the experience of using an electric car no different to using a fossil-powered one.”
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