Oxford’s £41m Energy Superhub completed as EV charging hub comes online

Oxford City Council has confirmed that “Europe’s most powerful electric vehicle” charging hub has been opened in the city, marking the completion of the £41m Energy Superhub that will slash emissions across transport and energy consumption.


Oxford’s £41m Energy Superhub completed as EV charging hub comes online

Pivot Power plans to deploy up to 40 Energy Superhubs across the UK

Oxford’s Energy Superhub project was first announced by the Government in 2019 as part of a string of new smart energy systems demonstrator projects.

The £41m project has been delivered by Pivot Power alongside an array of partners and technology solutions providers. The Superhub is expected to save 10,000 tonnes of CO2 every year, equivalent to taking over 2,000 cars off the road, increasing to 25,000 tonnes by 2032.

The Energy Superhub has today welcomed the opening of a fast-charging hub for EVs. A selection of chargers from Pivot Power, Fastned, Tesla Superchargers and Wenea are now available for drivers to use at Oxford’s Redbridge Park and Ride.

The charging hub is powered by 10MW of onsite renewable energy and consists of fast and ultra-rapid charging for 42 vehicles simultaneously. The hub can be scaled up as EV adoption does in the UK to provide charging for more than 400 vehicles.

Fastned has installed ten charging bays at the Superhub with 300 kW of power available, capable of adding 300 miles of range in just 20 minutes, while Wenea has deployed 20 7-22 kW charging bays. A further twelve 250 kW Tesla Superchargers will be available for Tesla owners.

The charging hub also connects directly to National Grid’s high voltage transmission network via a four-mile underground cable.

The network can also be expanded if needed across the city to help decarbonise public transport and commercial fleets. This will support Oxford’s net-zero target for 2040 and its piloted Zero Emission Zone in the city centre.

Commenting on the opening, Councillor Imogen Thomas, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford and Climate Justice, Oxford City Council said: “Oxford has a history of being ambitious as we look to adopt new and exciting transport approaches in our city. Redbridge was the location of the country’s first full running Park & Ride in 1973, and now almost 50 years later, we are home to Europe’s most powerful electric vehicle charging hub.

“In order to achieve a Zero Carbon Oxford by 2040 we need to encourage uptake in electric vehicles, and drivers want to know that they can charge their vehicles quickly and efficiently. The completion of Energy Superhub Oxford is an exciting step for our city and the future of EV charging.”

The Superhub also features a battery storage system to help balance renewables outputs. It combines a 2MW/5MWh vanadium flow battery from Invinity Energy Systems with a 50MW/50MWh lithium-ion battery from Wärtsilä.

Pivot Power plans to deploy up to 40 Energy Superhubs across the UK, with the next two projects already underway in Coventry and Sandwell, near Birmingham. Once complete, the network could provide almost 10% of the energy storage that the UK is predicted to require by 2035.

Comments (1)

  1. Richard Phillips says:

    How very nice to see, last but one para, the correct use of Watts and Watt.hours.
    A breath of fresh air!!!!
    Richard Phillips

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