BP to add EV fast chargers at its 1,200 filling stations with its new BP Chargemaster venture
Oil giant BP has announced that it intends to buy the UK’s biggest electric vehicle charger suppliers Chargemaster. The Luton-based company operates the Polar charging network with over 6,000 charging points across the UK, covering home, workplace and public installations.
Chargemaster Rapid Chargers next to Milton Keynes Central railway station parking (Image: T. Larkum)
BP currently has 1,200 filling stations in the UK and says that it will roll out ultra-fast chargers, including 150kW rapid chargers capable of delivering 100 miles of range in just 10 minutes, across its forecourts within the next 12 months. The oil company estimates that there will be 12 million EVs on UK roads by 2040, up from around 135,000 in 2017.
David Martell, Chief Executive of Chargemaster, said
“The acquisition of Chargemaster by BP marks a true milestone in the move towards low carbon motoring in the UK. I am truly excited to lead the Chargemaster team into a new era backed by the strength and scale of BP, which 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.”
The deal will see Chargemaster, which has 40,000 customers, rebranded as BP Chargemaster.
Milton Keynes has delivered the first charging point under the council’s ‘MK Promise’, which sets out to provide overnight electric vehicle (EV) charging within a short walk of a new EV owner without off-street parking facilities.
The Chargemaster Fastcharge unit has been installed at Wavendon House, a 17th-century Grade II-listed former outpost of Bletchley Park, following an application on behalf of the residents by John Zlotnicki.
“Whilst it is important to us to preserve and maintain our buildings, landscape and grounds in their historical setting, we recognise the need to ensure that our residents have the opportunity to choose to have environmentally-friendly vehicles.
“The MK Promise scheme enables us to look to the future whilst retaining the best of the past,” he said.
Slow Charging a ZOE on the street (Image: T. Larkum)
Funded partly through the £9 million Go Ultra Low investment awarded to Milton Keynes by the government in 2016, the ‘MK Promise’ sets out to provide charging solutions to drivers without a dedicated off-street location to charge, such as a driveway or garage.
Milton Keynes residents can submit their application once the process of purchasing or leasing an electric car is underway, at which point the council identifies potential locations within walking distance of their homes.
“We run POLAR, the UK’s biggest public charging network. It links over 5,000 public charging points, not limited to just Chargemaster units, giving EV drivers a convenient and reliable nationwide charging system. The POLAR network is growing all the time, making the future of electric motoring possible for more and more drivers.
POLAR Plus is our unique subscription service that offers members better value and special benefits. With the first three months’ membership free, you pay just £7.85 per month thereafter. Members enjoy unlimited access to over 5,000 charging points, most of which are then free to use. For the others, they just pay for the electricity consumed (at only 9p per kWh, which is cheaper than the average cost at home). There’s no long term contract or nasty notice period to worry about. If you decide for any reason to cancel, you can do so. Immediately. It’s as simple and painless as that.
POLAR Plus members earn ‘POLAR Points’ when they charge in a different town each month. Points can be used to borrow one of our fleet of 20 EV Experience cars for free for a week, including our BMW i8 and i3, Tesla Model S and Nissan Leaf.
POLAR Plus Ts & Cs: To receive three months’ free POLAR Plus membership, you must first sign-up for the scheme and provide your Direct Debit details. From the start of month four you will automatically be charged £7.85 each month for membership on an ongoing basis, until you cancel. New customers only. You can see whether a charging post is free or chargeable using our live map. Please note that during the free membership period you will still be charged for any electricity used.
Close-up of POLAR charge point (Image: J. Pegram-Mills)
POLAR Instant is a smart phone app that is available for both iPhone and Android smart phones that enables you to use hundreds of charging points across the country directly from your smart phone without the need for a RFID card or pre-registration to a “scheme”. iPhone App will be available from Mid April,2014 and Android from early May.
You can view where all the charging points are across the country, check if they are free to use in or what tariff they are charging, see what type of socket and output they have, see if they are available for use in real time, get directions to the charging point and then simply start and stop the charge from your phone with simple instructions.
POLAR Instant Ts & Cs: All charges are subject to a £1.20 admin fee which is deducted from your balance once the charge is complete. Some chargepoints will also incur a cost for the electricity used. To check the costs of individual chargepoints, please view our map. You may set up your account, make credits, view charging point check locations and tariffs as well as check your charging history and account balance on line at www.POLARinstant.com in the same way as on your smartphone app. If you need any assistance when charging call the POLAR Instant Help line on 0845 5280 289.”
Our View
POLAR is the biggest network of chargepoints around England. If you have seen chargepoints around your town, at supermarkets, town centres, car parks and public buildings, then chances are they are part of the POLAR network. Most of the points are low power and will charge an electric car in 3-8 hours (for these you will need to provide your own Type 2 cable – there is usually one supplied with each car). However, some are rapid chargers that can charge to 80% in about half an hour (these have their own tethered cables); the majority are manufactured in-house by Chargemaster.
POLAR rapid chargers (Image: T. Larkum)
There are two ways to pay – by subscription on POLAR Plus or Pay As You Go (PAYG) on POLAR Instant. The POLAR Plus subscription costs £7.85 per month (including VAT) which gets you an RFID access card. Most charging is then free, though some is charged per unit of electricity (kWh). On POLAR Instant you use a Smartphone App and you prepay into your account. There is a £1.20 ‘administration fee’ per charge and most charging is then either free or charged per hour (for example, £1.50 per hour on the ones I use in Milton Keynes). Note, however, outside Milton Keynes the majority of Chargemaster rapid chargers are only available on POLAR Plus. If you charge regularly on POLAR, more than a few times a month, or you want access to all the rapids, it’s generally worth joining the POLAR Plus scheme; you will also get additional benefits such as ‘POLAR Points’ allowing you to borrow from Chargemaster’s pool of electric cars.
Reliability of the POLAR charge points is generally good, and as the maps are real-time you can check in advance if a particular one you want is working. Further, you can check to see if it’s actually in use.
The POLAR network continues to expand and develop. In January 2017 Chargemaster completed the acquisition of Elektromotive and its Charge Your Car network (though access is not available via Polar Instant). In March 2017 it took on some parts of the Source East network. In July 2017 it announced that it was switching to 100% renewable energy.
UK’s largest electric vehicle charging network switches to 100% renewable energy
Electric drivers benefit from a reduced emissions footprint from POLAR charging points
Cost of POLAR network membership remains the same with no price increase
The UK’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging network, POLAR, which includes Charge Your Car sites, is switching to 100% renewable electricity from 1st August.
The electricity consumption of the POLAR network, operated by Chargemaster, will be certified and matched to energy generated from renewable sources by OVO Energy, one of the UK’s largest independent energy providers. It means that every mile driven by EVs charging on the POLAR network will be matched by renewable energy.
The electricity consumption of the POLAR network, operated by Chargemaster, will be certified and matched to energy generated from renewable sources; meaning every mile driven by EVs charging on the POLAR network will be matched by renewable energy.
Chargemaster, the UK’s largest provider of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, provides over 40,000 EV drivers with access to more than 5,600 public charging points in the UK across the POLAR and Charge Your Car networks. Combined, they represent more than 40% of all the charging points in the UK and, in the first half of 2017 supplied vehicles with more than 500,000 kWh of electricity.
The POLAR network is growing significantly, with Chargemaster installing more than 250 of its UK-manufactured Ultracharge rapid chargers this year. POLAR plus membership, which provides unlimited access to charging points in the network (over 85% of which are free to use) costs just £7.85 per month and will not increase with the switch to renewable energy. In addition, new members benefit from free membership for the first three months.
Electric vehicles already reduce local air pollution, as pure electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid and range-extender models running in electric mode, produce no tailpipe emissions.
Even when charged with electricity from the National Grid, the emissions footprint of electric motoring is still lower than the average new car in the UK. However, this benefit is increased if electric vehicles are charged using renewable energy, which ensures that electric motorists are truly ‘zero emission’, with no fossil fuel-generated electricity used when charging.
David Martell, Chief Executive of Chargemaster said,
“Switching POLAR, the UK’s largest EV charging network, to renewable energy is great news for EV drivers in the UK. It reduces the overall emissions of electric motoring, removing the upstream footprint of electricity generation in the same way as drivers have eliminated their tailpipe emissions.”
In January 2016, Milton Keynes was awarded Go Ultra Low City status alongside Bristol, London and Nottingham and secured multi-million pound investment from the UK Government. The cities and regions each received a share of £40 million funding by proposing innovative ideas to encourage drivers to choose an electric car.
Electric Avenue: MK City Centre Hub
Milton Keynes Council received £9 million funding to further its work developing modern vehicles to tackle harmful emissions, reduce its carbon footprint, and continue to make Milton Keynes one of the most sustainable cities in Europe.
Future plans for the funding in Milton Keynes include:
Charging Hubs, where electric vehicles can be fully recharged in around 30min: EV Rapid Charging Hubs are being established at the Coachway at M1 J14 and in the City Centre
Charging posts close to residential areas: Milton Keynes will commit to providing a charging point to any resident of the City who buys an EV, either at home or on a nearby street if the buyer does not have off-street parking
Priority for EVs in bus lanes
Destination charging at popular locations including supermarkets, hotels and leisure facilities
Trialling the latest developments in technology such as inductive charging
Information and signage: Signage will be provided giving motorists clear information on facilities for EVs.
With regard to the Charging Hubs, this project will see Chargemaster supply its latest charging infrastructure to set up two filling-station-style EV rapid charging hubs and 50 destination chargers across the town.
We have written at length about the new Electric Vehicle Experience Centre (EVEC) that has just been opened in Milton Keynes by Chargemaster. It provides help and advice on electric cars, and provides the opportunity to test drive a range of vehicles.
In association with the EVEC, the AA has launched an electric car driving course. In an AA-Populus Survey of 16,000 drivers, one third said they want to start learning to drive again – but in an electric car.
AA Driving School and Drive Tech trainers have developed the Drive Electric experience in conjunction with Chargemaster. It provides a free one-hour electric driving lesson and it is aimed at showing people how to get the best out of an electric car.
It may eventually go nationwide but is being trialled initially in the Milton Keynes area. More information is available here: AA Trust Launches Drive Electric.
Chargemaster uses electric vehicles on its own fleet to prove to companies that plug-in cars make good business sense, John Maslen discovers.
The company behind the country’s biggest electric vehicle (EV) recharging network is now using its fleet to prove the significant potential of zero-emission motoring in business.
Chargemaster is used by thousands of private owners, businesses and councils, with more than 50,000 customers across the UK and Europe. In the UK, it operates the Polar network, which has more than 5,000 recharging points.
It is also the official charging partner for most of the leading plug-in vehicle manufacturers, including BMW, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault and Toyota, along with a range of other fleet providers, such as leasing giant Alphabet.
For Chargemaster’s founder and chief executive officer, David Martell, the company’s own vehicle choice is a public vote of confidence in the future of electric vehicles within the fleet market.
He says:
“We are showing customers through our vehicle choices that we are serious about the potential growth in the market. We are also giving them confidence that plug-in vehicles are a viable fleet choice.”
Chargemaster operates a fleet of around 40 electric cars, including battery electric vehicles (BEV), range-extenders and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
They are used for everything from management cars to vehicles for sales staff and pool cars, with models including the BMW i3, Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi Outlander, Renault Zoe, Vauxhall Ampera, Volkswagen e-Golf and Tesla Model S.
From its Luton headquarters, the company serves customers throughout the country, so different types of technology are allocated for different types of usage.
For example, drivers who cover higher mileages, such as sales staff, will receive range-extenders or PHEVs, while managers with lower mileages can operate BEVs.
Last weekend saw the long awaited opening of the Electric Vehicle Experience Centre (EVEC) in Milton Keynes. It officially opened to the public on Saturday 22nd July. It is funded through a government scheme awarded to the local council and is managed by Chargemaster, the company that has installed the majority of charge points around Milton Keynes.
The Preview Event at the Electric Vehicle Experience Centre (Image: T. Larkum)
The EVEC is essentially a car showroom for electric cars but is located in a shop space on Crown Walk in the main centre:mk shopping centre (it’s close to the middle and next to Boots). It doesn’t resemble an out-of-town dealership so much as the boutique style shops developed by Tesla, Apple and most mobile ‘phone companies.
EVEC Purpose
The aim of the Centre is to both showcase existing electric models and be an information point for EV ownership in general. Visitors will be able to talk with staff about all elements of owning and running an EV, with test drives available too. It has been established to increase the number of EVs sold in the area. Milton Keynes’ target is for 23% of all new cars registered locally to be electric by 2021.
The Preview Event at the Electric Vehicle Experience Centre (Image: T. Larkum)
We are grateful to Chargemaster for inviting us to the Preview Event on Friday Night (Jo’s thoughts: A Little Bit of Zen). Most of the other guests appeared to be existing EV owners. The showroom housed examples of the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, Volkswagen Golf GTE and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. There were drinks and snacks, and then introductory speeches by David Martell, Chief Executive of Chargemaster, and Ted Foster, the new EVEC Manager. After the talks we had an opportunity to talk to Ted and the other staff.
EVEC Test Drives
As well as providing help and guidance on electric cars and EV driving, the EVEC is also making cars available for test drives. These can be short accompanied drives, however there is also the option of week-long extended test drives. For these there will be a charge (we understand about £70) largely to cover the inevitable cost of insurance. That’s seems fair to us – £10 per day to drive a new car, particularly considering the fuel costs will be negligible.
The Preview Event at the Electric Vehicle Experience Centre (Image: J. Pegram-Mills)
The enthusiasm of the EVEC ‘gurus’ is clear and we certainly appreciate the enthusiasm and resources that have gone into building and staffing the first dedicated electric vehicle showroom in the UK (and probably in the world). We wish it every success and will be supporting it by passing local customers to it for test drives.
If you live near Milton Keynes and are interested in taking a test drive in any one of a large range of new electric cars (including the Renault ZOE, Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, Golf GTE, and others) just get in touch with us on 01908-904020, or by email at sales@ fuelincluded.com.
A second free public charging point for electric vehicles has been installed in a Daventry car park due to increased demand.
DDC’s Environmental Improvement Officer Joely Slinn with Operations Assistant Rob Burton at the new electric vehicle charging point in Lodge Road.
The addition of the new facility in the Lodge Road car park means up to four electric vehicles can now be charged for free at the same time. It has been installed by Daventry District Council (DDC) following the success of the first charge point, which opened in May 2013.
The £7,000 project follows the publication of DDC’s Electric ‘Plug-In’ Vehicle Infrastructure Plan 2016-18, which highlighted the need to improve facilities across the district in response to a 250% increase in the numbers of electric vehicles on our roads in the last two years.
The first charge point at Lodge Road has been used more than 1,400 times since it was installed, saving 7.6 tonnes of CO2 compared to the emissions produced by the average petrol or diesel vehicle. That’s roughly the amount of CO2 that would be created by driving an average petrol car for more than 12 days non-stop.
Councillor Jo Gilford, Environment Portfolio Holder at Daventry District Council, said:
“We have seen growing demand for the public charge point as the take-up of electric vehicles has grown.
“We are committed to being at the forefront of environmental innovations in transport, and key to that is having the infrastructure in place to meet future demand. This new charge point will help us meet that demand and we expect it to be well-used by the public.”
Both of the public charge points at Lodge Road are Chargemaster single phase 32 Amp/7KW with type 2 sockets (7-pin sockets) and are free to use for up to 4 hours.
They are compatible with Plugged in Midlands (formerly Plugged in Places), POLAR/Chargemaster, Plugged in Midlands and BMW RFID cards. Compatible cards are also available to borrow from the Council’s reception during office opening hours.
We are grateful to Chargemaster for inviting us to their Preview Event ahead of the opening of the new Electric Vehicle Experience Centre (EVEC). The event took place on Friday evening 21 July 2017 ahead of the official public opening on Saturday 22 July. The EVEC is located on Crown Walk in the main Central Milton Keynes shopping centre.
The event ran from 6-8pm and included welcome speeches from David Martell, Chief Executive of Chargemaster, and Ted Foster, EVEC Manager.
