Osprey Charging has opened a new electric vehicle (EV) charging hub in Wolverhampton.
It’s the first of 150 new sites that the company plans to open in across the UK, as part of a £75 million project.
The new hub, which is located adjacent to the A463, includes four high powered chargers capable of adding 100 miles of range in just 10 minutes.
Ian Johnston, CEO of Osprey Charging, said: “The opening of our high-powered charging hub in Wolverhampton – the first of 10 in construction this year – once again puts the region at the leading edge of innovation, marking a step-change in the UK’s EV infrastructure as we accelerate towards mass adoption of EVs. The site, which deploys multiple high-powered chargers, will provide a blueprint for hundreds more right across the UK, meaning no waiting times for drivers and an overall outstanding customer experience.”
The hub will serve major transport routes in the West Midlands that see more than 130,000 vehicles pass by daily, and has a Costa Coffee on-site, allowing drivers to relax and make use of their facilities while they charge.
EV uptake in the area is expected to skyrocket over the next decade, with a report from Midlands Connect projecting the number of registered EVs in the Midlands – currently at around 45,000 – to reach 1.7 million by 2030 – an increase of over 3,000%.
This huge growth in EV adoption will require a sixfold increase in the number of EV charging points to meet demand, according to Osprey Charging.
The Wolverhampton hub is the first site in the UK deploy a new technology from Kempower, which enables locations to host multiple high-powered chargers on a single site.
Kempower chargers work together to optimise charging across multiple vehicles when more than one EV is plugged in. They allow power to be distributed based on demand, which varies significantly between individual vehicles due to the maximum charging rate of each model and its battery percentage at the point of charge.
The technology is expected to reduce waiting times by maximising the speed and availability of chargers.
Osprey’s £75 million UK-wide EV charging hub rollout will see a total of 1,500 150-175KW rapid chargers installed across 150 sites nationwide over the next four years. Each hub will be located on strategic A-roads and adjacent to motorways, hosting up to 12 high powered chargers.
All Osprey chargers are compatible with every rapid charging EV on the market today and do not require a membership or subscription to initiate charging – drivers can simply tap their contactless bank card or smartphone.
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Matt has been an automotive journalist for eight years. As senior staff writer he is responsible for the automotive content on Fleet News and also contributes to Automotive Management. Prior to this, Matt worked in the automotive industry for 10 years.
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