Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Infrastructure and TechnologyLatestNews

Power upgrade energises EV chargers at Cobham services

One of Britain’s busiest motorway service stations has upgraded its electric vehicle charging station, backed by a £3.8 million green recovery investment from UK Power Networks.

The regional electricity network operator has delivered new electricity infrastructure to power 12 new IONITY ultra-rapid charge points between J9 and J10 of the M25 at Extra Motorway Service Area’s (MSA) Cobham Services to support EV uptake, reduce carbon emissions and improve local air quality.

The project was funded by UK Power Networks’ Green Recovery programme, which is delivering low carbon energy projects across the South East, London and East of England, supporting Government’s ten point plan for the UK’s green industrial revolution.

Adam Lakey, leading the Green Recovery projects for UK Power Networks, said: “This significant investment in new power infrastructure for the motorway network at Cobham Services will enable more drivers to make the switch to EVs, improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions.

“We have worked with local communities, Government and Ofgem to invest in electricity infrastructure, promote jobs and economic growth and make tangible progress to connect more electric vehicles to accelerate the country’s transition to net zero carbon emissions.” 

As part of UK Power Networks’ Green Recovery programme, power upgrades are progressing at several motorway service stations to connect more electric vehicle chargers. At Cobham, UK Power Networks has installed 5km of new 33,000-volt cabling and new equipment at a substation in Effingham.

Tom Dobson, Chief Executive of Extra Motorway Service Area Group, said: “As the UK’s number one motorway operator, we’ve made a commitment to going the extra mile for our customers, which includes exceeding the government’s 2023 targets for the number of charge points at MSAs through our work with both UK Power Networks and IONITY. We look forward to building on this fantastic work through the planned expansion of our EV offering at a total of five of our sites across the next year.” 

Andreas Atkins, Country Manager UK & Ireland at IONITY, added: “In working alongside MSA operators such as Extra, we are leading the way to support drivers, as well as the wider environment, with the UK’s transition to EV. Our 350kW ultra-fast IONITY charging points are among the highest-powered facilities available on the UK motorway network. We look forward to working closely with Extra over the coming years to provide even more EV drivers with access to convenient, ultra-fast, and emission-free charging, enabling them to continue their journey with ease.”

Decarbonisation Minister Anthony Browne said: “I welcome this further investment by Extra, UK Power Networks and IONITY, which will improve EV charging provision on England’s motorway network. This will not only support EV drivers on UK roads, but also help the Government’s drive towards a greener motor industry.”

The company’s £66 million fund in the Green Recovery programme included 76 electric vehicle (EV) rapid charging stations to be installed across its regions, as well as enabling heat pumps, low carbon public transport and community energy schemes. 

The successful projects were chosen because they all demonstrated how they met the Government’s Net Zero objective and the Ten Point Plan. They were also assessed to understand their contribution towards improving air quality, creating jobs and alleviating fuel poverty.

Pictured with the new chargepoints, from the left, is Adam Lakey, leading Green Recovery projects at UK Power Networks, Marc Schulz, Owner at 2MS Construction, Andreas Atkins, Country Manager UK & Ireland at IONITY and Tom Dobson, Chief Executive of Extra MSA.

Image courtesy of UK Power Networks.

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