Hackney opens London’s first rapid electric vehicle chargers

Hackney Council has launched London’s first rapid on-street electric vehicle charging points, which can fully charge a vehicle in less than 30 minutes,

The three publicly-available 50kw devices are located in Hackney’s main town centres: Bentley Road in Dalston; Calvert Avenue in Shoreditch; and Reading Lane in Hackney Central.

The network can fully charge vehicles within half-an-hour compared to between three and four hours when standard EV units are used.

These charge points are also expected to help support the expansion of electric car clubs and floating car-sharing schemes, such as DriveNow, which currently runs 30 zero-emission BMW i3s in London.

75% of funding for the ew Evolt Tri-Rapid chargers has been provided by the Government’s Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) department, with the remaining 25% covered by Transport for London (TfL) through funds provided for Hackney’s Local Implementation Plan (LIP).

The registration fee for the rapid charger is £20. After the first year, there is an annual administration fee of £20 which will be automatically deducted from users’ accounts each year on the anniversary of their joining date.

The chargers are supplied by APT Controls Ltd with AC and DC cables, which can be used on all electric vehicles on the market that are compatible with rapid charging.

The Council has partnered with ChargePoint Services Limited (CPS) to operate and manage the network.

Cllr Feryal Demirci, Cabinet Member for neighbourhoods and sustainability, Hackney, said: “I’m delighted to announce the launch of London’s first on-street rapid charging network which shows that Hackney is once again at the forefront of innovation and sustainability in London.

“The Council is committed to improving air quality in the borough, including supporting the development of electric vehicles both locally and across London.

“We hope this network will make charging more accessible, efficient and practical, in particular enabling electric taxis and private hire vehicles, as well as other commercial vehicles such as those used by courier companies, to recharge during the working day.”

Joseph Seal-Driver, Director of DriveNow UK, added: “Rapid charging infrastructure like this is absolutely essential for London. Without it, we will never make the shift towards widespread electric vehicle use. We’re glad to see Hackney once again leading the way in sustainable and alternative transport for London; it’s part of the reason why it was one of the first boroughs in which we launched DriveNow. We’re hoping to see more local authorities following Hackney’s lead in the coming months.”

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