UK’s largest charging park opens in Birmingham
The UK’s largest charging park for electric cars has opened at the NEC Birmingham event centre. Up to 180 EVs can charge there simultaneously.
There are 30 HPC charge points with 150 kW power each for fast-charging. Specifically, 16 Alpitronic Hypercharger HYC300 units are installed, 14 with two charging points. The other two stations are designated accessible bays. However, not all 30 EVs can charge with 300 kW at the same time. If two cars are plugged in, the available power is divided between the two.
Those with more time can plug in to one of the 150 AC chargers with 7 kW. The fast-chargers are located in a separate area, the parking spaces are marked in blue, and they are covered by a solar roof – at least partially. The AC chargers, on the other hand, are installed in a regular parking lot – which will also be used by combustion cars.
The site, called “Gigahub,” is a joint project of EV Network (EVN) as investor and developer of the charge park, BP Pulse as operator of the charge points, and NEC Group as the land owner. According to the announcement, the partners expect seven million visitors per year at the “Gigahub” – referring here to the total number of visitors to the NEC campus, not the number of charging sessions. For all visitors, there is also a Starbucks Coffee drive-thru.
We are proud to launch the UK’s largest charging hub at the NEC Birmingham. thanks to all our suppliers and contractors who have worked to help us achieve this UK milestone.#electricvehicles #ev #emobility #EVattheNEC @thenecgroup pic.twitter.com/mpqC0u4Q2Q
— The EV Network (@globalevnetwork) September 7, 2023
BP Pulse is focusing on fast and ultra-fast charging points and plans to build “hundreds of hubs” in urban areas, on arterial roads and freeways by 2030 – but it also plans to build charging parks at destinations such as restaurants, hotels and specialist stores.
“The transition to electric vehicles is evolving at pace, which is why BP Pulse is focussed on accelerating the development of the UK’s EV infrastructure, delivering the right charging speeds, in the right locations and investing up to 1 billion pounds to do so,” says Akira Kirton, vice president of BP Pulse UK.
“EVN has already built dozens of sites across the UK, but the successful completion of this new project launches us onto a much more ambitious growth path, as the leading business in our sector with a range of exciting new partners,” says Reza Shaybani, CEO and co-founder of EV Network. “The NEC was a perfect location that is not only geographically key, but of national significance, to support the EV charging landscape.”
0 Comments