Vattenfall is to install its maiden electric vehicle charging stations in the UK after clinching an agreement with contracting firm BMM Energy Solutions and South Norfolk Council.
And those charge points are to be powered entirely by renewables, using electricity generated by Vattenfall’s fleet of UK wind farm firms.
In May the Swedish state-backed utility confirmed that it would bring its open access EV charging business InCharge to the UK later this year, confirming that it had partnered with Alfen ICU as a delivery partner and targeting its first installs in H2 2018.
Vattenfall will now install and operate an initial 20 charging points at five car parks in the South Norfolk Council area. Installations are to start this week and be completed by the end of the month, with the charge points ultimately owned by South Norfolk Council.
BMM, which Vattenfall described as one of the country’s most experienced installers of EV charging infrastructure, will complete the work.
Anthony Hinde, managing director for InCharge in the UK, said: “We launched InCharge in Britain earlier this year, so we are pleased, six-months later, to be installing our first ever InCharge public charging stations in Britain. Powered with 100% renewable energy from Vattenfall’s British wind farms, drivers using InCharge in South Norfolk can go electric with homegrown wind power.”
Vattenfall now intends to expand its InCharge network by partnering with public bodies, commercial property owners and fleet operators.
The company also plans to sign roaming agreements with other EV charging network operators in the UK to expand the availability of its pay-as-you-go charging service which sees drivers pay via a charge card or mobile application.
Speaking to Current± earlier this year, Tomas Björnsson, head of emobility at Vattenfall, said the use of contactless card payments and other digital payment methods promised to be a “really interesting area of development in the sector”.