Motorway services giant Moto is eyeing potential new opportunities in charge point operation and renewable energy as part of its work to lead the transition to clean fuels.

Alan McCarthy-Wyper, managing director, EV and energy at Moto

It’s appointed Alan McCarthy-Wyper, former chief operating officer at Gridserve, to join the operating board as managing director, EV and energy.

The newly created role marks a step change for Moto’s leadership on clean fuels. The company expects to be dispensing the equivalent of a quarter of the power generated by an average size nuclear power station to motorists in just seven years’ time and McCarthy-Wyper will pave the way for the business to explore becoming a charge point operator in its own right, alongside its current partners Tesla and Gridserve.

Moto is already working to help the UK decarbonise with its rollout of ultra-rapid charging hubs for EVs – it has just under 400 Ultra-rapid chargers in place across 27 of its motorway service areas and the ambition to have almost 2,500 ultra rapid chargers by 2030.

Moto predicts that almost one in three cars arriving at its motorway services in 2030 will be an electric vehicle. Its ambition to bring ultra-rapid EV infrastructure to the UK’s motorway network aims to match this trend, with more than 1,000 new ultra-rapid chargers being brought to Moto sites by the end of 2025, more than 2,000 by 2030 and almost 5,000 by 2040.

McCarthy-Wyper joins Moto from Gridserve where he was chief operating officer for the past four years. Prior to this, he was chief operating officer at Bladon Micro Turbine and has also held managing director positions at Balfour Beatty, KN Group and ISG.

Ken McMeikan, Moto chief executive, said: “It’s an exceptionally exciting time for Moto and our customers as we are now evaluating the exciting potential of becoming a charge point operator in our own right, like our partners Gridserve and Tesla, and to forge ahead with our ambition to produce our own renewable energy to compliment the power we currently secure from the seven power companies across the UK. I am delighted we have attracted someone of Alan’s calibre to drive our ambitious plans forwards at pace.”