National Highways will start trials of energy storage technology in a move to offer super-fast EV charging across all parts of the UK.

National Highways will start trials of energy storage technology in a move to offer super-fast EV charging across all parts of the UK.

Commercial trials of the high-power, durable energy storage technology from British firm Levistor will get underway in early 2025 and will boost the UK electricity grid network while supporting ultra-rapid charging on UK motorways.

The technology addresses concerns of motorway service station operators over a lack of access to power from the grid to meet the increasing demand from EV drivers; a situation likely to worsen if megawatt charging for electric HGVs becomes mainstream.

Levistor’s trial will be carried out at National Highways’ test and development centre at Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire. The project will run alongside National Highways’ existing programme of work to invest in energy storage systems that can support electric vehicle charging on the UK’s motorway network, in particular where the existing grid network infrastructure cannot support super-fast, high-powered EV charging.

Leading motorway service station operators such as Moto Hospitality have called on the UK government to declare all 2,300 miles of the UK’s motorway network a “national priority” to be given sufficient access to power from the grid.

Levistor’s flywheel energy storage system (FESS), or ‘kinetic battery’, provides a short-term power boost to the grid wherever extra energy is needed to charge an EV. The technology enables an EV driver to get 100 miles of range with a five-minute charge, helping put an end to range anxiety.

The Levistor flywheel, originally developed at City, University of London, stores up energy from the grid during periods of low demand. This energy is then rapidly released through a standard EV charging point, allowing drivers to be on their way again quickly.

Matt Journee, chief executive of Levistor, said: “National Highways’ readiness to trial our commercial product is a strong endorsement of our R&D work to date and highlights the grid constraint challenges that need to be overcome if the EV roll-out in the UK is to be truly nationwide. Our system offers a solution to National Highways, the electricity network operators and charge point operators.

“We can deliver the power to fast chargers to meet the needs of EV drivers, especially those that are outside urban areas and those that regularly use the motorway network. Installing our systems across the country will give drivers much-needed confidence, especially long distance.”

Christopher Plumb, energy team leader at National Highways, added: “This kind of innovative solution offers great potential to help improve the EV charging network and ultimately help accelerate the widespread adoption of electric vehicles supporting our journey to Net Zero Highways.”

The Levistor flywheel can be easily connected to the local grid and has been designed to be quickly deployed above or below ground singularly or in multiples. This makes the technology ideal for service stations, bus/rail termini, fleet depots and distribution centres, such as supermarket deliveries and general retail.