NewMotion is continuing to bulk out its roaming agreements with the announcement of its latest partnership with Statkraft-owned Mer.
Having launched in the UK earlier this year, Mer is looking to extend roaming for the UK’s electric vehicle (EV) drivers to make charging as seamless as possible.
The new agreement means drivers using the NewMotion or Shell Recharge charge card or app – as NewMotion was bought by Shell in 2017 – can now charge their EV at the 160+ charging points operated by Mer.
It is hoped this partnership will help ease concerns over range anxiety, with NewMotion already having 20 roaming partners in the UK and 200 in Europe.
The summer of 2019 saw a rapid increase in these agreements, with one signed with Vattenfall and one with ChargePoint, as well as a letter of intent signed by Allego, EVBox, NewMotion, Chargemap, ChargePoint, Charge4Europe, Osprey, Franklin Energy and Travelcard to open up their networks to roaming agreements by the end of that year.
Roaming has also come to the attention of lawmakers, with the UK government launching a consultation in February into improving the public EV charging experience.
This consultation detailed several options for roaming and interoperability, including the creation of an interoperable roaming platform by government, regulating that chargepoint networks open up their networks or continuing to allow the market to lead.
“Providing easy access to public charge points via roaming is important for a seamless EV charging experience, lowering the barrier to e-mobility,” Alan McCleave, regional manager UK and Nordics at NewMotion, said.