Plans to fast-track electric vehicle adoption through a UK-wide Electric Forecourt network have received a multi-million pound funding boost from Hitachi Capital.

The UK-wide network of over 100 Electric Forecourts will be delivered over the next five years with the help of multi-million pound funding from Hitachi Capital UK

The plans are the brainchild of global energy business Gridserve, which announced a year ago that it was working on the EV-focused service stations. It revealed last month that the first Electric Forecourt is on track to go live this summer in Braintree, Essex, bringing the ability to charge 24 electric vehicles at once using superchargers that can deliver up to 350kW of charging power, backed by zero-carbon solar energy and service station levels of comfort and facilities. More than 100 Electric Forecourts will go live in the next five years.

Gridserve’s plans, which also include developing the UK’s most technically advanced hybrid solar farms, are now being facilitated by Hitachi Capital UK’s loan facility, while the two organisations, in conjunction with Hitachi Europe SIB, are working together on various green energy-focused projects, including electrification of the UK bus network and the supply of electric vehicles with charging included at the Electric Forecourts.

Robert Gordon, CEO of Hitachi Capital (UK) plc, said the partnership would revolutionise the UK’s motoring landscape and accelerate the transition to vehicle electrification.

“The response to the current pandemic has highlighted the impact of carbon emissions on the environment,” he commented. “We now have a real opportunity, through flagship programmes like this, to create the infrastructure needed to fast-track electric vehicle adoption across the UK and meet the Government’s ambition to be carbon neutral by 2050. Creating a greener, cleaner society.”