Transport for London (TfL) has opened a new rapid charging hub in Woolwich, allowing drivers to charge up in 20-30 minutes.
The site in Glass Yard, South London, includes eight charge points, and is a £2 million investment in collaboration with charge point operator ESB Energy and Siemens Mobility as installation partner
It is part of TfL’s strategy to have a rapid charging hub in every one of the capital’s five sub-regions, the first being in east London at Stratford International.
A site at Baynard House in the City of London, the central location, is currently being constructed. More will follow in the north and west.
Last year, TfL hit its target of delivering 300 rapid charging points across the capital.
Alex Williams, TfL’s director of City Planning, said, “It’s essential that we increase the supply of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles as we support the shift to these vehicles to clean up London’s air and decarbonise transport in the city.
“We have seen an increase of more than 2,000 charging points in the capital over the last year and these new hubs are a key part of that expansion.
“The state-of-the art facility at Glass Yard gives people confidence that they will have a charge point available when they arrive and not have to wait long until they are fully powered up.
“These hubs will be spread across the capital and complement the dense charging network we already have, meaning range anxiety is not something drivers have to worry about in London.
“We know there is going to be huge growth in the number of electric vehicles over the next few years. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy published in the next few months will set out in detail how we will cater for this demand.”
TfL may be increasing the roll-out of EV charging points, but what are they doing about hydrogen refuelling points for cars, vans and 7.5 tonners? Especially for people who don’t have access to their own charging point which would allow them to charge their EV overnight. Having to wait 25 minutes for an EV to charge is too long for many busy drivers, especially if there’s a queue, whereas refuelling with hydrogen takes a similar time to filling with petrol or diesel, and you get a longer range. A Toyota Mirai has been driven from London to Scotland on a single fill of hydrogen.