The first of over 150 high-power rapid charging hubs planned for the UK has opened in Wolverhampton.

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The inaugural site is part of a £75m nationwide rollout by Osprey Charging, announced this summer and intended to revolutionise the UK’s EV charging infrastructure and eliminate charging anxiety.

Located next to the A463, the new Wolverhampton hub hosts four high-power rapid chargers that can add up to 100 miles of charge in just 10 minutes. A Costa Coffee is on-site, allowing drivers to relax while they charge, while drivers can simply tap their contactless bank card or smartphone to pay for charging.

The Wolverhampton site will provide a blueprint for future hubs; Osprey is planning to install a total of 1,500 150-175kW rapid chargers across 150 sites nationwide over the next four years. Each hub will be located on strategic A-roads and adjacent to motorways, hosting up to 12 high-powered chargers.

Ian Johnston, CEO of Osprey Charging, said: “Whether it’s gigafactories, EV manufacturing or Clean Air Zones, the West Midlands is leading the way on low carbon transport, cementing its role at the heart of the UK’s green industrial revolution.

“The opening of our high-powered charging hub in Wolverhampton – the first of 10 in construction this year – once again puts the region at the leading edge of innovation, marking a step-change in the UK’s EV infrastructure as we accelerate towards mass adoption of EVs. The site, which deploys multiple high-powered chargers, will provide a blueprint for hundreds more right across the UK, meaning no waiting times for drivers and an overall outstanding customer experience.”

The inaugural site also represents the first time that new ‘smart charging’ Kempower technology has been deployed in the UK. The charger optimisation technology enables locations to host multiple high-power chargers on a single site without compromising on charging power or requiring prohibitively expensive grid connections.

Kempower chargers work together to optimise charging across multiple vehicles when more than one EV is plugged in. They allow power to be distributed based on demand, which varies significantly between individual vehicles due to the maximum charging rate of each model and its battery percentage at the point of charge.

This can reduce waiting times significantly, maximising the speed and availability of chargers for drivers, and increasing consumer footfall for the landowners hosting the hubs.

The technology also means grid connections can be optimised, allowing multiple high-power chargers to be installed per site and offering higher charging speeds without the need for more grid power. The physical footprint of each charger is also reduced by 74%, allowing space for more chargers, improving accessibility and reducing their visual impact to support planning permission.