UK planning major battery and HPC network

The UK is installing a battery supported HPC charging network for electrified vehicles. The company Pivot Power and the National Grid are planning to connect 45 battery storage units with critical infrastructure junctions as part of a 1.6 billion pound project.

Reports have indicated that the project will build the largest network of battery storage units in the world, with a total combined performance of more than 2 Gigawatt. The project includes England, Scotland and Wales. Each battery storage unit will feature a 50 MW performance, and the first ten units will likely be installed over the next 18 months. The massive storage capacity of the batteries will also be used to store surplus energy generated from renewable sources and help stabilize the entire grid.

From an e-mobility perspective, the addition of High Power Chargers on the batteries is of note. 100 chargers with 150 kW performance are planned at 45 locations, which could also be upgraded to 350 kW at a later time.

Officially the details of the major project have not been released, and most of the information was reported from industry circles. The financing of the project was shared between several automobile and energy companies, as well as the investor Downing LLP.

Update 19.10.2018: The decision for the first two locations for the battery supported HPC charging network for EVs has fallen: The first will be built close to Southampton in the south of England. Pivot Power also received the construction permissions for the second planned location in Carlisle, in the north of the nation near the M6 highway.

reuters.com, businessgreen.com, uk.reuters.com, bbc.com (Last two updates)