Every electric vehicle charger across the UK motorway network’s Electric Highway has reportedly been upgraded. Gridserve, which took over the service 10 months ago, set to work transforming the network of chargers, which had earned a reputation for being unreliable and difficult to use.
Since June 2021, more than 300 “medium power” Electric Highway chargers have been replaced at more than 130 motorway service areas. The new units accept contactless payment, have 24-hour support and offer real-time status updates.
On top of these medium power connectors, Gridserve is installing new High Power Electric Hubs that offer up to 350kW charging capacity – equalling the fast chargers currently available through Ionity. These can deliver up to 100 miles of range in under 10 minutes, though very few EVs can currently accept the full 350kW.
High Power Electric Hubs are already open in Swansea, Exeter and Burton-in-Kendal, with nine more locations currently under construction. Gridserve chief executive Toddington Harper said: “As an early adopter of electric vehicles myself, the Electric Highway network played an essential role in enabling me to make the switch.
“However, those days are long gone and Gridserve’s focus is delivering an EV charging network fit for purpose to support the mass-market transition to electric vehicles. We’ve had great feedback from drivers on both the network upgrades and also on our new High Power Electric Hubs, which provide the best possible charging experience, and are already enabling more drivers to travel quickly and comfortably around the UK.”
Gridserve says it is continuing to work on upgrading its charging network, introducing a new “dual charging” feature. This allows EV drivers to use multiple connectors from a single charge point, doubling the number of vehicles that can be charged at any given time.
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
