This week’s EV Roundup sees a continued rollout of EV charging infrastructure, with two new SSE Energy Solutions hubs in Dundee, RAW Charging’s biggest installation in Europe, and a YouGov survey showing that drivers increasingly want to buy EVs over traditional petrol cars.
Two new EV charging hubs confirmed for Dundee
SSE Energy Solutions is installing two electric vehicle (EV) charging hubs at Myrekirk Roundabout and Kingsway West in Dundee.
The Myrekirk Hub will feature charge units capable of dispensing 360 kilowatts of charge, while one of the hubs will eventually feature canopies made from old wind turbine blades, the first time this has been done in the UK.
SSE say the hubs will be the “most powerful” in Scotland, with the hub at Myrekirk roundabout having a total of 24 ultra-rapid charging bays and a total capacity of almost 2.5MW.
Eight EV chargers at Myrekirk roundabout will be 360kW, which SEE says is “believed to be the first publicly accessible hub anywhere in Scotland to feature charge units this powerful.”
The other 16 chargers will be 150kW, and the site will also feature a green roof to enhance the biodiversity of the site by providing habitats for insects and birds.
A second hub in Dundee’s Kingsway West area is awaiting full planning permission. This hub will feature 8 150kW bays and curb-less charging areas for increased accessibility.
Subject to planning permission, SEE plans to install canopies on the Kingsway West site made from old wind turbine blades, repurposed by Scottish company ReBlade.
SSE aims to build 500 ultra-rapid EV charging hubs in the UK and Ireland by 2030. The first hub, at Castlebank in Glasgow, opened in September of last year.
UK’s RAW Charging announces completion of Paris EV charging hub
UK EV charging provider RAW Charging has announced the completion of an EV charging hub at a McArthurGlen designer brands outlet in Giverny, near Paris.
The site will feature 60 chargers serving 120 bays, all of which are ChargePoint’s CP6000 AC charging solution, which is suitable for all EVs.
It is the largest European installation by RAW Charging so far, and the largest cluster of CP6000s in the world, according to the company. The chargers are powered by a 2.4MWh substation onsite.
RAW Charging specialise in EV charging installations on commercial blue-chip destinations in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. Their other major clients include Merlin Entertainments, Greene King pubs, Bespoke hotels and National Trust as well as commercial property owners and developers.
All the chargets on the site are 22kW slow chargers for customers to charge their vehicles while shopping at the site, which is 45 minutes from Paris.
🔋🎢 RAW To Install EV Charging At Leading UK Attractions Including @LEGOLANDWindsor, @altontowers & @THORPEPARK 🎢🔋
— RAW Charging (@RawCharging) July 11, 2023
We’re delighted to announce we have partnerned with @MerlinapUK to fully fund, install & manage EV Charging across 5️⃣ of the UK’s largest attractions
(1/4) pic.twitter.com/LaYPsuypEU
The 60 chargers installed are all 22kW and the site can charge 120 vehicles at once when at full capacity. The new facilities will allow visitors to charge their vehicle whilst shopping at the designer outlet which is just 45 minutes from Paris and offers 100 unique RAW has previously installed chargers at McArthurGlen sites in the UK in York and the East Midlands, with 34 bays across both sites.
Jason Simpson chief executive of RAW Charging, said: “As a committed Francophile, having spent many years in France, I am absolutely delighted to partner with McArthurGlen to deliver in Giverny our first major European installation and Chargepoint’s largest global installation of CP6000s. McArthurGlen Designer Outlets represent the epitome of our dedication to providing best-in-class EV charging experience to visitors of world class Retail, Hospitality and Leisure destinations.”
One in four UK drivers will buy an electric car next according to survey
A YouGov survey commissioned by EV charging company CTEK has found that 24% of people say their next vehicle will be either fully electric or a plug-in hybrid EV.
However, the company says that without an accelerated rollout of EV charging infrastructure, many new EV drivers may be left without easy access to charge points, and adoption may be impeded by anxiety around infrastructure access.
More UK drivers plan to buy a new EV (12%) than a new Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) car (9%), with those planning to buy a new EV split evenly between fully Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs).
For used vehicles, ICE (29%) remains ahead of EVs (12% – 4% BEV and 8% PHEV). 50% of current ICE owners plan to stick with petrol or diesel while 25% are looking to buy an EV.
In terms of demographics, people over 55 are less likely to choose an EV than other groups, while women (20%) are less likely to go electric than men (28%).
A majority of EV owners (56%) said that they would be keen to take part in battery storage flexibility services, by selling energy back to the grid from their EV at times of high demand.
However, anxiety about infrastructure is growing among EV onwers, with 76% of people agreeing EV drivers have charger anxiety, up from 65% in 2022.
Meanwhile, 83% of people polled in the UK said there is not enough charging infrastructure, up from 71% in 2022 and ahead of Sweden, Norway, France and the Netherlands. 50% of drivers said they encountered broken chargers at least 25% of the time. 52% said they had to wait to use public chargers at least 25% of the time.
The survey also found that drivers are demanding simpler ways to pay for public charging, such as one app for all charge points. Current petrol car drivers said that cheaper EVs would be the best way to tempt them to buy one.
Cecilia Routledge, CTEK’s global director for energy and facilities, said: “Our annual YouGov survey shows a strong demand from both existing EV owners and ICE drivers to buy electric as their next vehicle – both new and used. The UK charging sector and national and local government need to work harder on expanding and maintaining the charging infrastructure to reduce the frequency of broken chargers and queueing.”