Last July, UK energy provider Gridserve took over an existing public charging network, which had earned a reputation for being unreliable (not the only network in the world to suffer from this affliction). Gridserve renamed the network the Electric Highway, and set about upgrading all the charging stations.
That process has now been completed. The company has replaced more than 300 “medium-power” chargers at 130 motorway service areas. The new units accept contactless payments, and offer 24-hour support and real-time status updates.
Gridserve is also installing new High Power Electric Hubs that offer up to 350 kW of charging power. High Power Electric Hubs are already open in Swansea, Exeter and Burton-in-Kendal, and nine more locations are currently under construction.
“As an early adopter of electric vehicles myself, the Electric Highway network played an essential role in enabling me to make the switch,” said Gridserve Chief Executive Toddington Harper. “However, those days are long gone and Gridserve’s focus is delivering an EV charging network fit for purpose to support the mass-market transition to electric vehicles. We’ve had great feedback from drivers on both the network upgrades and also on our new High Power Electric Hubs.
Future upgrades will include a new dual charging feature that allows EV drivers to use multiple connectors from a single charge point, doubling the number of vehicles that can be charged at once.
Source: Gridserve via WalesOnline