The investment by bp pulse, bp’s EV charging business, will allow it to deliver more rapid and ultra-fast chargers in key locations while expanding products and services to fleet and home users.
“This £1bn investment is vital to provide the charging infrastructure the UK needs,” Richard Bartlett, senior vice president, bp pulse said in a statement. “We’re investing to build a world-class network. This investment allows us to deliver more high-speed charging in dedicated hubs and on existing fuel and convenience sites, more home charging services, and crucial enhancements to our digital technology that will make charging fast, easy and reliable.”
The investment will triple the number of public charging points in bp pulse’s network and accelerate the roll out of 300kW and 150kW ultra-fast charging points that provide EVs with up to 100 miles of range in around 10 minutes.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: "I am delighted that bp pulse is supporting the transition to cleaner vehicles as we accelerate towards our net-zero ambitions and boost green jobs opportunities right across the UK.
"Convenient, reliable and affordable charging is key to our green revolution and this investment from bp will make it easier for drivers up and down the country to go electric."
Bp pulse is part of bp’s integrated UK business portfolio, which includes plans to develop up to 5.9GW gross of offshore wind capacity across the Irish Sea and North Sea and plans to produce 1.5GW of low carbon hydrogen in Teesside, 30 per cent of the UK’s 2030 target, from its H2Teesside and HyGreen Teesside projects.
“Automotive manufacturers have invested billions in EVs, with more than 150 models now available in the UK across a range of segments, and consumers are responding,” commented Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive. “Investments such as this are essential to give motorists the confidence to switch, and we need to see the full variety of charging locations – the motorway, at work, destinations and, especially, on-street charging, if we are to decarbonise road transport.”
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