Morrisons to install 100 rapid EV chargers in 2019

The first chargers will be installed at select Morrisons supermarkets by the end of April 2019

Morrisons has agreed a deal with ChargePoint Services, operator of the pay-as-you-go GeniePoint Network, to install 50-100kW rapid charges at Morrisons stores. The chargers will enable shoppers to charge an EV in around 20 minutes.

Morrisons’ senior buying manager for fuel & services, Andrew Ball, said: “Customers have told us that they want popular and useful services in our stores, and we are continuing to listen and respond to that feedback.

“We recently passed a landmark having introduced over one thousand new and diverse service points to our stores including parcel collection, holiday money, barbers, car buying and clothes recycling.”

The first chargers will be installed at select Morrisons supermarkets by the end of April 2019, with 100 expected to be up and running by the end of the year.

ChargePoint Services’ GeniePoint Network is free to join and there is no monthly fee, meaning that drivers will pay for what energy they use.

“We are very pleased to be working with Morrisons, an organisation that is putting into practice its publicised sustainability and customer service strategies,” ChargePoint Services’ managing director Alex Bamberg said.

“By offering another useful local service, customers are provided with choice for grocery, café and comfort stops, and green vehicle refuelling. Whether they are local residents or a longer distance traveller, Morrisons are supporting drivers making the change to clean transport technology.”

Charging surge

Morrisons follows fellow supermarket Lidl in installing EV charging infrastructure in carparks. In August 2018, Lidl announced it would install EV chargers at 20 of its stores across Ireland.

With EVs set to account for more than half of new car sales by 2040, the Government and the private sector are both seeking to improve the availability of EV chargers to spur demand for the vehicles.

Shell and BP, for example, have already moved to install networks of rapid EV chargers at their UK petrol stations. Pub chain Marston’s and Property management and investment giant M7 Real Estate have also invested in charging stations on their respective estates.

The Committee on Climate Change estimates that nearly 29,000 charging points are needed across the UK by 2030 to meet future EV charging needs. 

Matt Mace