CTEK and APCOA join forces on electric car charging in UK car parks

Car parks in the UK are to become better equipped for charging electric cars. Sweden-based charging specialist CTEK will install electric vehicle charging points in car parks managed by APCOA, which is active in the areas of parking, charging, technologies and urban solutions in 13 European countries.

CTEK will be installing an undisclosed number of Chargestorm Connected 3 (CC3) charging stations in APCOA car parks. The CC3 chargers are ready for bidirectional charging in line with the ISO 15118 standard, which also enables drivers to feed energy back into the grid for load balancing if suitable technology is installed in the vehicle and the grid utility is similarly technologically prepared. CTEK specialises in load-balancing capabilities for grids and is ensuring that the technology it installs is future-proof. The chargers are also similarly Plug&Charge ready, ensuring interoperability and secure transactions between the vehicle and the charger. The charging power of the stations is not enormous, delivering up to 22kW, as is suitable for charging while the car is parked anyway. The CTEK CC3 charging stations support the latest Open Charge Point Protocol, ensuring interoperability with various systems.

The initial implementation phase in this new cooperation includes installations in car parks managed by Hillingdon Council in West London and 37 railway station car parks operated by APCOA for Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR). This will mark a continuation of APCOA’s focus on electric car charging in UK car parks.

Currently, APCOA car parks in the UK already feature over 1000 EV charge points, with an additional 300+ installations planned for this year. The company says that existing charge points serve important destinations, which include rail stations, hospitals, educational institutions, hospitality venues, retail centres, local government sites, and airports. Just over a year ago, the company gave the green light for 500 chargers in UK car parks.

Both companies are proactively embracing the latest technologies to reduce emissions as well as city traffic. APCOA points out that it decreases the volume of logistics traffic and vehicles searching for parking for which it also utilises its digital services and intelligent Traffic Management System. Via its open digital platform, APCOA Connect, the company also connects on-street and off-street car parks with owners, partners, customers and their vehicles. APCOA is using this technology to transform its car parks into urban hubs that create the physical and digital infrastructure for mobility, logistics and EV charging.

CTEK offers electric vehicle solutions range from individual chargers, to larger corporate and commercial installations with multiple charging stations that require grid load balancing (hence the bidirectional charging capability) and integrate with monitoring and payment equipment. In 2020, CTEK and Brighton-based EVC announced a new partnership for CTEK to supply 100,000 chargers.

ctek.com