BP Pulse to build truck charging stop in southern England

BP is taking over a truck stop in the south of England and is planning a large fast-charging park for electric trucks there. It is located at the Ashford International Truckstop in Kent, close to Dover and the Eurotunnel.

According to BP, the site offers space for around 20 megawatt chargers, 10 x 400 kW chargers and 125 x 100 kW chargers. The first MCS chargers are scheduled to be connected to the grid from 2026. The mix of MCS columns and CCS chargers of different power classes is intended to cover as many scenarios as possible for charging e-trucks on the motorway – from the shortest possible charging stop during the 45-minute break to the rather slow charging of the truck battery overnight.

Initially, the number of charging station types mentioned above will not yet be reached; this is only the potential that the Ashford International Truckstop offers, according to BP. The exact expansion depends on the “availability of power connections and the pace of electrification in UK and European road freight transport”, according to the energy company. At least the potential demand is high: Ashford International Truckstop is strategically located at junctions 10 and 10a of the M20 and close to Dover, the UK’s busiest ferry port, and LeShuttle Freight via the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone. Around 3.5 million heavy goods vehicles – primarily lorries – use the Port of Dover and the Eurotunnel to cross the English Channel every year.

BP wants to connect truck charging corridors

“For fleet operators to consider going electric, they must be confident that the infrastructure is in place to support them. That is why we are thrilled to have secured the land to a crucial site near Dover as we strive to meet the evolving needs of HGV operators transitioning to EVs,” said Stefan von Dobschuetz, general manager bp pulse Europe.

If the first CCS charging points go live before the super-fast MCS chargers, BP says it will enable a connection from the UK to BP Pulse’s German charging corridors – “a crucial step in BP Pulse’s vision to build a comprehensive Europe-wide network of electric vehicle charging infrastructure for lorries”. The German charging corridors mentioned above are known in this country under the Aral brand. At the Aral petrol stations in these corridors, two charging stations per location, each with two charging points, are designed in such a way that heavy commercial vehicles can also access them easily.

In Kent, BP is aiming for significantly more than four charging points at the site. “Now we need to unlock the EV charging potential at this site. We look forward to working with national energy infrastructure partners to facilitate timely power connections for our ambitious project,” continues von Dobschütz.

Ashford International Truckstop is currently owned by the GSE Group. The 21-hectare site already provides 660 secure parking spaces and convenience services for truck drivers. Under the terms of the agreement, BP Pulse has now taken over this site but will lease it back to GSE subsidiary Ashford International Truckstop Ltd to operate the existing facilities on the site and secure car parking spaces under a long-term lease. BP Pulse will operate and manage the electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Darrell Healey, Chairman of GSE Group, said: “We know the industry, including many of our clients, want to go electric. They will need convenient and quick charging infrastructure in the right locations, which is why the combination of the truck stop at Ashford and bp pulse works so well.”

bp.com