Sheffield Council has installed 18 new rapid electric vehicle chargers across the city area, it has announced.
Across seven locations, the chargers will re-charge a battery to 80% in 45 minutes. The local authority chose sites in council car parks and on-street parking across the city, including four sites within the city centre. The first of these sites are now ready to be used.
Each 50kW charger can charge at 50kW DC or 22kW AC. Each charger will be fitted with Type 2, CCS and CHAdeMO DC Connectors, accommodating for most electric vehicle models on the market.
The chargers, managed and installed by Franklin Energy, follows a successful bid from Sheffield City Council to the Joint Air Quality Unit Early Measures Fund and the Ultra Low Emission Taxi Infrastructure Scheme from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles.
Nine of the charge points are reserved for taxi-only usage to ensure that electric taxis will always have a place to charge. The chargers are being installed and managed by Franklin Energy.
The cost of charging will be 30p per kilowatt hour for the first hour. After the first hour, the cost rises to £10 for every hour to encourage drivers to free up the space for the next driver. When charging, parking is free and there are no additional parking charges. Payment is through Franklin Energy’s app, LiFe EV or by contactless card payment.
Julie Grocutt, cabinet member for transport and planning said: “We’re improving Sheffield’s electric car charging network to make it easy for people to make the switch to electric vehicles which is one of the best things we can do to reduce harmful pollution from transport – making the air we all breathe cleaner
“We know not everyone has access to off-street parking, so not everyone can charge their car up at home. However, rapid charging means you can fill your car up while you nip to the market, or to the shops.”
Robert Byrne, managing director of Franklin Energy said: “We are delighted to work with Sheffield City Council in building a new rapid charging network from the ground up. This will help to accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles and e-taxis across the region.”
