Instavolt is to increase its stock of rapid chargers three fold after agreeing to acquire 400 additional units from ChargePoint in the latest European deal to be secured by the US electric vehicle charging giant.
Instavolt, set up in late 2016 by the former co-founders of solar and storage developer Anesco, agreed an exclusive supply deal with ChargePoint in May last year when it took on 200 rapid chargers to begin its network.
These are expected to be up and running this spring, with new 50kW rapid DC chargers to be added throughout 2018. These will triple what Instavolt has called its “commitment to building the UK’s premium electric vehicle charging network”.
The company has been targeting petrol forecourts as well as destination locations such as gyms, business parks and leisure centres for its installations in an effort to provide easily accessible electric charging infrastructure.
“This order for a further 400 rapid DC chargers with our technology partner, ChargePoint, represents another significant milestone in the roll-out of our network,” said Tim Payne, chief executive of InstaVolt.
“Increased public awareness and growth in sales of electric vehicles has enabled us to accelerate the roll out of our public charging network. ChargePoint’s future-proofed charging technology ensures that our network is, and will continue to be, the most relevant charging network in the UK.
“This order further supports our objective of being the largest owner-operator of DC rapid charging assets in the UK, and we anticipate further announcements in the near future as we continue to install at new locations nationwide.”
For Chargepoint the deal is the latest milestone in its European expansion, which recently saw the company agree to supply chargers to facilities solutions provider ABM UK. Motor Fuel Group is adding to the company’s GeniePoint Network in its roll out of 50kW chargers at over 400 petrol station forecourts, while ChargePoint Services will provide back-up support to Transport for London’s own network.
Chris Burghardt, managing director for Europe at ChargePoint and the former head of policy at Uber, said: “ChargePoint has committed significant resources to growing our presence in Europe in the past year, as highlighted by this partnership.
“InstaVolt’s commitment to triple the number of rapid chargers is another important milestone for ChargePoint that not only expands our relationship with InstaVolt, but supports our mutual commitment to the mass adoption of electric vehicles in Europe.”
