bp pulse is set to announce that it will be spending an extra £1 billion on electric vehicle charge points in the United Kingdom according to a news feature in the Financial Times. The investment by bp pulse will seriously increase the number of super-fast electric vehicle (EV) chargers the company has throughout the UK.
Currently, bp pulse has around 8,000 chargers that are largely found at regular petrol stations and motorways services. The company hasn’t announced yet what this figure will increase to.
bp pulse, formerly known as Chargemaster, had previously said that it expects to double the number of fast chargers in the UK to 16,000 by 2030. Globally, bp plans to install 100,000 chargers by the end of the decade.
The announcement, which is expected at the end of the week, is believed to be part of several investments to be announced alongside the government’s infrastructure strategy. Other private sector spending is also anticipated at the same time on Friday.
The government’s new strategy is expected to put an emphasis on increasing electric vehicle infrastructure. This is to support the increase in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which in January accounted for 27.4 percent of vehicles sold in the UK, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
A big part of the government’s new strategy is expected to focus on super-fast charging infrastructure on major routes to make longer trips in an electric vehicle easier. Secondly, it’s expected to focus on on-street charging for those that can’t charge at home. We will bring you more news on this later in the week as it is released.
