A new ultra-rapid charging hub said to be one of the largest in Greater Manchester has opened at the Gateway Centre retail park in Oldham.

The site is home to 16 ultra-rapid charging bays, capable of delivering up to 150kW

Developed under a £1m deal with Manchester-based EV charging network Be.EV, the site is home to 16 ultra-rapid charging bays, capable of delivering up to 150kW – fast enough to add 125 miles of range in a 15-minute stop.

The Kempower chargers, commissioned and maintained by Vital EV, feature load-balancing abilities that can intelligently distribute energy supply between vehicles according to capacity and demand.

This means that if one car reaches the maximum amount of power on one charger, any residual energy supply can be reassigned to another vehicle connected onsite. The site has 1.2MW of power being delivered across all 16 charging bays.

Drivers can also monitor their charge level from their mobile whilst doing their shopping through a QR code.

With only six other ultra-rapid EV chargers within two miles of the site, the charging hub will be a valuable addition for EV drivers travelling through Greater Manchester.

The chargers will be powered by renewable energy from Octopus Energy and open to any EV drivers – although Be.EV members will be able to access a discounted rate that’s available across the company’s rapidly growing network.

Be.EV CEO Asif Ghafoor asserted: “We are putting significant investment into Oldham. These Kempower chargers are really cutting-edge, and unlike lamppost chargers we’ll still be using these in 20 years or more.

“It’s a charging hub that responds to the needs of shoppers and the community – take a look at the future of EV charging. With drivers able to browse the nearby shops whilst their vehicle is plugged in, this site offers so much more than just functional, fast charging.

“It shows how with the help of private partners we can spur the transition to electric vehicles and clean our cities up.”