Sustainable energy solutions provider GRIDSERVE, and motorway services operator Moto, have set up a high-power electric hub at Moto Thurrock along the M25.
The rapid charging electric hub will serve the 200,000 electric vehicles that travel on the UK’s busiest motorway each day.
The all-new site at Moto Thurrock, located on the eastern side of the M25 between junctions 30 and 31, features 12 EV chargers, which have the capability of providing up to 350kW of power each. This means “the latest electric vehicles could add the 117 miles of range required to drive around London’s Orbital Motorway in less than 15 minutes charging time”.
All GRIDSERVE Electric Hubs have been designed to feature both CCS and CHAdeMO connectors, the company said. They accept contactless payment and provide real-time status updates to a myriad of popular EV charging maps, it added. “The chargers are powered by 100% net zero carbon energy from the company’s pioneering hybrid solar + battery farms.”
The deployment of the Thurrock Electric Super Hub is part of a multi-million-pound investment into expanding the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway – a nationwide EV charging network that was acquired by the sustainable energy company Ecotricity 11 months ago.
The Thurrock EV charging facility is the latest of four all-new High Power Electric Super Hubs that GRIDSERVE set up at Moto’s sites in just five weeks – the other three locations are Burton-in-Kendal, Exeter, and Swansea. It also opened its second Electric Forecourt format in Norwich during the same time frame.
“We are committed to building a UK-wide charging network at a speed that will help give EV drivers the confidence they need to undertake any journey, “irrespective of what electric vehicle they drive, and charge quickly, reliably and affordably,” GRIDSERVE’s CEO Toddington Harper said.
The company said Thurrock Electric Super Hub will provide quick, convenient charging for both the Thurrock and wider Essex communities, as well as visitors to the nearby Lakeside and Bluewater Shopping Centres.
The Thurrock Electric Super Hub also supports the Mayor of London’s EV infrastructure strategy, as the vast majority (74%) of car and taxi trips that include the M25 are known to start or end in London.
EVs are exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty and don’t pay to enter the London Congestion Zone and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), both of which now levy charges seven days a week. The London administration wants to make the Capital a zero-carbon city by 2030.