The incredible speed and scale of the High Power charging rollout across the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway has been revealed in a series of new maps.
The four graphics show the state of the nation over the past four years, from 2020 when just one location offered High Power charging to the end of 2023, where customers had access to over 300 bays offering 350kW-capable charging.
These chargers can add 100 miles of charge in under 10 minutes and recharge an electric car to 80% in about 30 minutes – the perfect amount of time to use the facilities and collect your oat milk flat white.
The first site, opened in 2020, to offer High Power charging was the Braintree Electric Forecourt®, followed by our first Electric Super Hub at Moto Rugby in 2021.
In 2022, several more of High Power charging hubs went live at motorway service areas, including Moto Exeter (expanded in 2023), Moto Swansea and Moto Wetherby. The Norwich Electric Forecourt® also opened its doors, helping transform EV uptake in the region.
Last year saw the installation accelerate, with triple the number of High Power bays opened, including new Electric Retail Hubs at places such as Dobbies Garden Centre and other busy retail parks.
In fact, across December, more charging bays opened in a single month than in the entirety of 2022. It also heralded the opening of our third – and most advanced – Electric Forecourt® at London Gatwick, helping decarbonise the transport to and from the airport.
The rapid deployment of High Power charging is needed to match the rise in EV uptake and provide customers with the ability to plug-in on the go, with 300,000 new EVs registered in the UK last year – up almost 20% on the previous year and more than 2021 and 2022 combined.
With so many locations across the whole of the UK, it gives drivers the confidence to switch to an electric vehicle no matter where they live. It also makes taking your EV on a family road trip a reality with chargers on all major routes to some of the most popular holiday hotspots.
Electric vehicle uptake is expected to rise again in 2024 – and GRIDSERVE is planning another record year, too, with many more new sites in development including Electric Super Hubs, Electric Retail Hubs and Electric Forecourts®.
