The number of ultra-rapid charge points in the UK grew 11% in the first three months of 2022 to 1,434, new data from Zap-Map reveals.

InstaVolt installed the highest absolute number of new charge devices in Q1 2022

Its latest quarterly report indicates that the rollout of high-speed charge points has broadly kept pace with electric vehicle sales so far in 2022, with the number of fully electric vehicles on the road growing by 16% over the same period.

Total EV charge points have grown 7% so far in 2022 to 30,409 across 19,150 locations.

The 100+ kW DC ultra-rapid chargers were the fastest speed category of growth with 162 new devices (net 144) while there were also 250 new DC rapid chargers (25 to 99kW) installed (net 189), bringing the total rapid or ultra-rapid chargers available across the UK to 5,500.

Although these devices account for less than 20% of charge points, they make up around 60% of the available power capacity and are essential to support EV drivers en-route and for high-speed top-ups.

Slow and fast chargers, from 3-22kW, also increased by an average of 7%.

Net new charge point installations by power rating Q1 2022

Although 22 different networks installed one of the 412 (net 333) new rapid or ultra-rapid charge points, six networks accounted for 70% of the new high-speed provision.

InstaVolt installed the highest absolute number of new charge devices with a figure of 67 – of this, 65 were over 100kW power rating and are located at sites including McDonald’s, Costa Coffee and KFC locations.

Meanwhile, Gridserve has been busy upgrading the legacy Ecotricity chargers, replacing the old units with newer technology, and often adding greater numbers with more units at each location.

Pod Point – traditionally associated with AC destination charging – is also increasingly becoming a player in the rapid charging market, having added 45 new rapid chargers, mainly at Tesco and Lidl stores.

Top 6 networks installing new rapid and ultra-rapid devices Q1 2022

Prices increasing but electric still cheaper than petrol or diesel

As energy prices rise, the cost of charging on the public network is also increasing.

As of mid-March, the average cost of ultra-rapid and rapid charge was 44p per kWh – equating to around 13p per mile based on average EV efficiency of 3.5 miles per kWh.

But, with the average petrol price at £1.63 per litre and diesel at £1.77, ICE motorists can expect to pay at least 20p per mile on all but the most efficient models.

In addition, drivers charging at home typically benefit from cheaper prices of around 20p per kWh – or even lower with off-peak EV tariffs or using electricity from solar panels.

Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder and COO of Zap-Map, said: “EV charging use cases are diverse and we need a diversity of charge speeds to match. Ultra-rapid chargers, which can add over 100 miles of range in minutes, are a crucial area of investment because they make long journeys easier. EV sales are taking off, so the fact that ultra-rapid chargers are keeping step with sales great news for EV drivers old and new, who might be concerned about range anxiety.”