Fastned’s has laid claim to installing the UK’s first 350kW capacity fast charger in Sunderland.

The station has two 175kW chargers which are enabled for 350kW charging for all full electric vehicles when required, in addition to four 50kW chargers.

All electricity supplied to drivers will be sourced from solar and wind, with solar panels on the canopy of the station.

Charging at the new fast-charging station will initially be free until a payment system is activated later on this year. From there, payments can be made through an EV charge card, debit/credit card, Apple Pay or Android Pay. It will also be possible to charge with the Fastned App, which allows for automatic charging.

Funding for the station came from the Go Ultra Low Cities Grant and the European Regional Development Fund. It was designed, built and operated by Fastned and is owned by the North East Joint Transport Committee.

Read more: Current News

Fastned, which is building a European network of fast charging stations for electric vehicles, has won a second tender in the UK led by the North East Joined Transport Committee.

Fastned will build and operate five fast charging stations (hubs) for electric vehicles across the region. Each station will initially house two 50kW rapid chargers that will deliver 100% renewable electricity.

Fastned intends to build and operate the five fast charging stations in Gateshead, Blyth, Whitley Bay, Washington, and Kingston Park. These fast charging stations will enable fully electric cars to fast charge their batteries and will be added to Fastned’s European network.

The network currently consists of 88 stations in the Netherlands and. Two other Fastned stations are currently under development in Newcastle and Sunderland as part of the Go Ultra Low NE programme.

Read more: Forecourt Trader

Dutch fast electric vehicle charging provider Fastned has set its sights on the UK as one of four markets to be targeted following an €11 million (~£9.6 million) fund raising.

The company issued bonds last month offering 6% interest per annum over five years to be paid quarterly in arrears. The proceeds are now to be used to expand Fastned’s network beyond the Netherlands and Germany, where it currently has 78 operational stations, to include Belgium and the UK.

The company has 12 fast charging stations under construction and expects to use the latest funding boost to expand this further.

Bart Lubbers, co-founder of Fastned, said:

“More than 5,000 people have now invested in Fastned. These people believe in our mission and in our company. They see that the growth of electric mobility is accelerating.

“Where our stations used to get only a few visitors per day, we now see multiple cars charging at the same time. Our best station already attracts more than 100 visitors a day! This is just the beginning and people are seeing that.”

Read more: Current News