Today’s vehicles typically plug in for 30 minutes to acquire 350 kW.
New chargers capable of providing energy to travel 100 miles in five minutes
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More than 1,000 ultra-fast plug points will be installed at service stations that will be able to charge an electric vehicle in just five minutes to combat long queues.
Some motorway services have started employing police officers to manage long queues of frustrated drivers waiting to charge their car.
However, the head of Britain’s largest charging network said these images will be “a thing of the past” once his company has installed new ports that reduce loading times from half an hour to five minutes.
Gas stations have begun hiring agents to deal with frustrated motorists who are stuck in the long lines that snake along their forecourts.
Toddington Harper, chief executive of Gridserve, which runs charging points at Moto, Roadchef and Extra service stations, will spend £1bn installing fast chargers by the end of 2024.
This represents a tenfold expansion from the 124 built in early 2023, as the company hopes to charge 400,000 electric vehicles per month next year.
Concern about the availability of public charging points is cited as one of the main reasons why people decide not to buy an electric car.
But Harper believes these concerns have accelerated his plans to create more charging points in this country.
Last month, the RAC said the government had failed to meet its target of having six or more fast or ultra-rapid chargers at every motorway service station in England by the end of 2023. Only 46 of 119 service stations had that many.
harper said the times: ‘A few years ago it was very difficult to get financing for charging infrastructure.
“Instead of people worrying about waiting in line, people worried, ‘Is anyone really going to show up?’ Are electric cars going to exist?
‘Queues have given the financial community the confidence to raise money and make queues a thing of the past. Sometime this month the country is expected to reach the milestone of one million fully electric cars on the road.
Tesla superchargers typically run at 250 kW. Vehicles currently using Gridserve stations typically plug in for 30 minutes to consume 350 kW.
Harper claims its 350 kW chargers are capable of providing enough power in five minutes for an electric car to travel 100 miles.
While the batteries in most existing electric vehicles cannot charge at this speed and intensity, Harper says newer cars with that capacity will be on British roads from the end of this year, and most vehicles They will be able to charge at this rate from 2026.
The head of Britain’s largest charging network said these images will be “a thing of the past” once his company has installed 1,000 ultra-fast connection points that reduce charging times from half an hour to five minutes.
The world’s largest battery maker, CATL, began mass producing the Shenxing battery last year and claims a 10-minute charge will enable a trip of 400 kilometers.
Harper purchased the fledgling Electric Highway of highway service station hotspots from its creator, Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, in 2021.
He is so confident in Gridserve’s plans that he believes there will be no need for the government to continue with its plan to spend almost £1bn in subsidies on building grid connections on motorways.
But others still believe that this charging network has not been implemented quickly enough.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: “Lighting up our highways with the latest charging technology is absolutely critical to accelerating the electric vehicle revolution.
“Manufacturers are investing in models, some of which are already on the market, that can charge at faster rates, so we need a national network to match, to be built ahead of need and to reduce VAT in public charge”.