UK's largest electric car charging hub opens for business

The UK’s largest public electric vehicle (EV) charging hub in the West Midlands is officially open for business to help overcome barriers to infrastructure development.

The Gigahub was officially opened on 7 September by UK Chancellor, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, who said the site will be a major transport hub for the future and marks a significant step in the country’s rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The Gigahub will serve the seven million annual visitors to the NEC Campus as well as the wide range of other road users that make up the area’s average yearly traffic count of 60 million.

Accessed via the main NEC Campus through road, less than 1 mile from junction 6 on the M42 and just 2.4 miles from junction 7A for the M6.

Capable of charging 180 EV’s simultaneously, the Gigahub includes ultra-fast 16x 300KW DC chargers which are capable of charging 30 EVs simultaneously. The site also has a further 150 points for 7KW charging including additional designated accessible bays.

The range of charging speeds offered by the Gigahub from 300kW for ultra-fast DC charging to 7kW AC charging for longer stays, addresses the diverse needs of different types of EV drivers.

The EV Network (EVN) which designed, developed, and constructed the multimillion-pound project signed a long-term contract with the NEC Group to bring EV charging infrastructure to the campus.

bp pulse worked closely with EV Network on the Gigahub and plans to roll out hundreds of hubs by 2030 in urban areas, on trunk roads and motorways and at destinations such as restaurants, retail parks and hotels.

Reza Shaybani, CEO and co-founder of the EV Network which is investing £100 million in EV Infrastructure projects this year and is planning a further £300 million by 2025 said: “The NEC was a perfect location that is not only geographically key, but of national significance, to support the EV charging landscape.

"EVN secured 6.5MVA grid connection to support the entire infrastructure. The strategic placement and impressive scale of this charging hub within the UK’s transport infrastructure offers reassuring support to drivers journeying between cities.