Marks & Spencer to add 900 store charge points with BP
UK retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has signed an agreement with BP to build charging points at its sites. Over the next two years, BP Pulse will install 900 new fast charging points at around 70 M&S shops in the UK.
M&S has said that the charge points will have a charging capacity of at least 50kW and are aiming to have at least one charge point with 150kW at each location as far as this is possible. The charging stations will be either connected to the grid or involve a battery-integrated solution.
After the installation of all 900 units, a feasibility study is to follow in two years to test the introduction at further locations. The agreement with M&S is for BP Pulse, BP’s electric vehicle charging business, to supply, install, operate and maintain the charging points at 70 M&S shops.
The first 15 units of the new 50kW chargers are already in operation M&S Maidstone and Southgate, which are the result of pilot projects that began in 2020.
BP and M&S first joined forces in 2005. The partnership initially involved setting up M&S food stores at BP petrol stations. Now, at just over 60 of these filling stations (with M&S Food), 250 BP Pulse charging points are already available.
Commenting on the new agreement, Sacha Berendji; M&S Director of Operations, said: “We know that services like EV charging are in demand from our customers, so we’re delighted to be offering this service and give more reasons for customers to shop with us.”
Akira Kirton, CEO of BP Pulse UK, added: “This is exactly the kind of collaboration the UK needs to help accelerate the transition to lower carbon transport, and we’re delighted to be working with M&S to make that happen.”
BP operates most of the UK’s charging stations and in March this year, announced a plan to invest £1 billion over the next ten years to expand its BP Pulse charging network. BP Pulse says it is “the busiest charging operator in the UK with one of the leading ultra-fast and high-speed public charging networks”.
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