The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, AKA Chief Finance Minister, officially opened the Gigahub Charging Station on September 7, 2023. The parties to this bold initiative – BP Pulse, The EV Network, and NEC Group – located it at the intersection of three motorway systems near Birmingham, England. This is the nation’s largest public electric vehicle battery charging hub to date, and forms part of a larger plan.
Chancellor Praises Gigahub Charging Station
The Chancellor, Right Honorable Jeremy Hunt MP, had high words of praise for the project. “This is the biggest private investment in electric charging in the UK,” he said. “It is a huge vote of confidence in Britain’s role as a leader in green industries.
“The ground-breaking site will be a major transport hub for the future,” the Chancellor continued. “It marks a significant step in our rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country”. However, this project also provides insight into the challenge of recharging huge numbers of electric vehicle batteries using our highways.
The Gigahub Charging Station can accommodate up to sixteen vehicles on ultra-fast 300KW DC battery chargers simultaneously. Two of these bays are set aside for designated special needs. A further 150 charge points are available for slower 7KW services, including additional designated battery charging bays.
But This Can Only Be a Small Beginning, Surely?
We featured this initiative because it alerted us to the immense task that lies ahead, to keep electric transport running on highways throughout North America. This prototype site in the UK may well be a testament to the power of collaboration, as BP Press Office London says.
But we need to become even smarter when it comes to battery design and charging facilities. That’s because almost-instantaneous battery charging will have to become the norm. If we are to keep ahead of the curve, as electric vehicles become the norm on the highways and byways of our nations.
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