BP Chargemaster is laying claim to the first 150kW ultra-rapid charging hub in London as its nationwide roll out continues.
Four 150kW chargers have been installed at BP’s retail site in Hammersmith in London, making the site the first ultra-rapid charging hub in London.
The chargers join the rest of BP Chargemaster’s Polar network and are currently available on Free Vend for a limited time.
The chargers have both CHAedMO and CCS connectors.
The installs come as part of a wider roll out of ultra-rapid chargers, with a goal of 400 to be installed across the UK by 2021. The project was first announced at an industry event in May by Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO of downstream at BP.
The first two chargers were installed at a BP retail site, BP Cranford in Hounslow, in August.
BP Chargemaster’s Tom Callow said ultra-rapid charging will become “increasingly important” as EV adoption accelerates, particularly in urban areas due to fleets and private motorists without access to off-street parking at home.
“While our first two ultra-fast charging locations are within the M25, by the end of the year, we expect to have started to establish a nationwide network, with sites in England, Scotland and Wales.”
Callow also confirmed the site has shops, a cafe and car wash facilities and that BP Chargemaster expects the dwell time to drop to between 10-15 minutes.
Ultra-rapid charging is starting to make headway in the UK. Fellow oil and gas giant Shell claimed the first install of a 150kW charger in the UK in July, with the ultra-rapid going in at a petrol station forecourt in south London.
And EV charging firm IONITY signed a deal with Octopus Energy to install renewable-powered 350kW high power charging (HPC) stations in the UK. IONITY then partnered with Extra MSA Group, which owns and operates parts of the UK’s motorway network, for the installation of HPC units at MSA-owned service stations.
BP Chargemaster is also rolling out a network of 200 50kW rapid chargers at UK pubs run by Mitchells & Butlers.
It was one of several companies, including Centrica and National Grid, to issue the government with an industry statement stressing the need for a nationwide ultra-rapid charging network.
