Sunday, November 10, 2024
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MFG plans mass £400m rapid charger roll out

Forecourt operator plans £400m investment in 2,800 Ultra-Rapid 150kW EV Chargers across 500 sites in the UK throughout the next decade.

The roll out by Motor Fuel Group (MFG), which owns more than 900 sites across the UK, means it will increase its current chargers from 108 – installed by third parties – through self-funding, building and operating its own charging hubs and become a national charge point operator in its own right.

MFG hubs will consist of between four and eight Ultra-Rapid 150kW EV Chargers per site and will be futureproofed with 350 kW chargers as vehicle battery technology improves to maintain the fastest charging times across the MFG network.  While charging speeds are beyond the capability of most EV models currently on the market, MFG is investing ahead to build confidence in electricity as a fuel source, it said.

In 2021, MFG will build EV charging hubs at an additional 40 sites, offering over 200 Ultra-Rapid 150kW EV Chargers. The initial focus will be on major trunk roads and urban areas. In London alone, MFG’s planned roll-out will treble the current number of open network Ultra-Rapid 150kW EV Chargers.

From 2022 onwards, MFG plans to build at least 50 additional EV charging hubs per year.  A significant number of these will be on the strategic road network, thereby materially helping Government to hit the targets it has laid out.

Over the coming decades, MFG will operate a dual fuel strategy.  It will continue to provide existing fossil fuel infrastructure while rolling out EV charging hubs while continuously upgrading its nationwide network of industry-leading travel retail destinations.

William Bannister, CEO, MFG, said: “Our planned £400 million investment in this vital infrastructure will help keep UK motorists on the move, and our essential retail will support local communities and the economy. I am looking forward to engaging with Government to ensure this investment best meets the national EV infrastructure requirement to help us all make a contribution to ensuring Britain meets its net zero target by 2050.”

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