LONDON – This week, BP announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Chargemaster, the U.K.’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging company. Chargemaster operates the country’s largest public network of EV charging points, with more than 6,500 across the country. It also designs, builds, sells and maintains EV charging units for a wide range of locations, including for home charging.
“Bringing together the U.K.’s leading fuel retailer and its largest charging company, BP Chargemaster will deliver a truly differentiated offer for the country’s growing number of electric vehicle owners,” said Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO of BP Downstream, in a press release.
The number of EVs on the road is anticipated to increase rapidly in coming decades. By 2040, BP estimates that there will be 12 million EVs on U.K. roads, up from around 135,000 in 2017.
“At BP we believe that fast and convenient charging is critical to support the successful adoption of electric vehicles. Combining BP’s and Chargemaster’s complementary expertise, experience and assets is an important step toward offering fast and ultra-fast charging at BP sites across the U.K. and to BP becoming the leading provider of energy to low-carbon vehicles, on the road or at home,” Erginbilgic said.
BP believes that accelerating the adoption of EVs will require convenient customer access to fast and ultra-fast charging. A key priority for BP Chargemaster will be the rollout of ultra-fast charging infrastructure, including 150kW rapid chargers capable of delivering 100 miles of range in just 10 minutes. BP customers in the U.K. can expect to access BP Chargemaster chargers on forecourts in the next 12 months.