The need for new charging infrastructure in the UK is likely to become increasingly urgent in the coming years, not least as authorities aim to halt sales of new diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2030.
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Tritium and BP have signed a multi-year deal to supply electric vehicle chargers. This is the latest example of big energy companies trying to cement their position in the burgeoning electric vehicle market.
According to a statement from Tritium on Monday, the agreement will initially focus on an order for “close to 1,000 chargers” for the UK, Australia and New Zealand markets.
Founded in 2001, the Australian company Tritium specializes in the development and production of DC fast chargers for electric vehicles. Shares of the Nasdaq-listed company rose more than 12% on Monday and opened flat on Tuesday. The stock is still down around 4% so far this year.
Towards the end of March, BP – better known for its oil and gas production – announced it would invest £1 billion (about US$1.3 billion) over 10 years in EV charging infrastructure in the UK.
BP said the money would “enable the deployment of faster and ultra-fast chargers in key locations”. The company also said its charging business, known as BP Pulse, will “roughly triple its number of charging points by 2030.”
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BP’s announcement came on the same day the UK government released its electric vehicle infrastructure strategy, which said the country would host “at least” about 300,000 public charging points by 2030.
BP is not alone in its bid to break new ground in the EV charging market. Shell had already announced the opening of an “EV Charging Hub” in London in January. Shell said it has replaced petrol and diesel pumps at the site with so-called “ultra-fast charging stations”.
The fossil fuel powerhouse is aiming to install 50,000 street chargers by mid-decade through its subsidiary Ubitricity.
The need for new charging infrastructure in the UK is likely to become increasingly urgent in the coming years, not least as authorities aim to halt sales of new diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2030. By 2035 Britain will require all new cars and vans to have zero tailpipe emissions.
According to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders released in early April, new battery electric car registrations in the UK hit 39,315 in March, a 78.7% year-on-year increase.
“This is the highest volume of BEV registrations ever recorded in a single month and means that March 2022 registered more than all of 2019,” the SMMT said.