BP buys UK's largest EV charging network
Oil giant BP is buying the operator of the UK’s largest electric vehicle charging network, Chargemaster, in a move designed to maintain its position as a key energy supplier to automotive transport.
BP said the move will accelerate the installation of ultra-fast and fast charge points on its 1,200 filling station forecourts. This will include 150kW chargers, capable of recharging a battery in just 10 minutes to deliver a range of 160km.
Chargemaster already operates 6,500 public charging points across Britain, and has 40,000 customers for its POLAR recharging network. The company also installs home and office charging points. It will rebrand as BP Chargemaster.
Away-from-home charging will win
While domestic charge points dominate the UK charging sector today, in the long term BP believes that fast charging and convenient charging, away from home, will become the dominant model.
Tufan Erginbilgic, BP Downstream chief executive, said, “Combining BP’s and Chargemaster’s complementary expertise, experience and assets is an important step towards offering fast and ultra-fast charging at BP sites across the UK and to BP becoming the leading provider of energy to low carbon vehicles, on the road or at home.”
By the end of last year there were more than 135,000 electric vehicles on UK roads, and BP forecasts that this figure will rise to 12 million by 2040.
The oil company has not disclosed the acquisition prices, but a figure of £130million (€147 million) has been widely reported in Britsh media.
David Martell, chief executive of Chargemaster, said the acquisition by BP represents a milestone towards low carbon motoring in the UK.
“The strength and scale of BP, will help us maintain our market-leading position and grow the national POLAR charging network to support the large range of exciting new electric vehicles that are coming to market in the next couple of years,” he said.
In a parallel move, last year Shell bought the Dutch firm NewMotion, which has 30,000 charging points in Europe, and signed an agreement with IONITY, the joint venture between BMW, Daimler, Ford and the Volkswagen Group, to install 350kW fast chargers at 80 of its motorway service stations across Europe, including the UK.
