UK: Gridserve opens EV charging test lab

UK charge point operator Gridserve has opened a test lab for EV chargers at its Innovation and Operations Centre in Swindon. The goal is to improve its network's reliability.

According to the CPO, the company can test Medium Power and High Power Chargers (HPC) at its new facility. There is even “enough space to trial multiple EV charging bay configurations,” Gridserve points out. The company is also looking at hardware components such as distribution cabinets and stationary story systems.

However, Gridserve is particularly looking at the interoperability of chargers and electric vehicles. It has tested its EV chargers with electric cars, motorcycles and trucks. According to the images accompanying the press release, it also tested the compatibility of its fast chargers and a prototype of the Mercedes-Benz eActros 600.

Gridserve does not say exactly when the test lab opened its -doors but it could not have been just yesterday. The company points out that it has logged “thousands of hours of functionality and interoperability testing” and that “in the first half of 2024, these measures have helped to boost network reliability standards across the company’s 190 EV charging locations.”

“The speed, ease of use and prevalence of High Power DC charging has become an important factor in the rapid adoption of electric vehicles across the UK, and the reliability of networks like the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway is critical to solidifying consumer confidence,” said Pete Bishop, Chief Technology Officer at Gridserve Technologies.

gridserve.com