London’s Brent Cross shopping centre will install a 236-bay electric vehicle (EV) charging hub over the coming years.
Delivered by electric vehicle charging provider Franklin Energy, the first phase of the facility is expected to arrive by the end of 2021 – but the project will come to fruition over the next five years.
Hammerson and Aberdeen Standard Investments, joint owners of the retail and leisure destination, have identified the site’s car park as the location for the electric vehicle charging site. They claim it will be the largest electric charging facility in the UK on completion.
The chargers, which will be operated and maintained by Franklin Energy on the LiFe Network, will be supplied by EVBox and installed over several phases. The first phase will see the installation of 50 fast charging points (22kW AC) in the multi-storey car park and two ultra-rapid charging points (350 kW DC) in the western overflow car park.
Electricity will be provided through Brent Cross’s REGO-backed, clean electricity contracts.
The chargers take one to two hours to fully charge a car battery, and Brent Cross envisions customers will charge their vehicles before enjoying its shopping and leisure facilities. It said the average time taken for a visit prior to the pandemic was 95 minutes.
However, Hammerson and Aberdeen Standard Investments predict the facility will also provide sought-after charging points for cars passing by on the nearby M1, A41 and A406 via the North Circular.
The move is part of the landlords’ efforts to reduce its environmental impacts, with Brent Cross Hammerson’s ninth destination to offer charging points.
Louise Ellison, group head of sustainability at Hammerson, commented: “The installation of the UK’s largest EV charging facility will not only attract more visitors to our centres at a time when we are expecting to see a significant increase in electric vehicles on the roads, but also shows our continued commitment to tackling climate change, as we continue our journey towards becoming net positive by 2030.”
She added: “Combined with our renewable electricity contracts, this service has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of visitors to Brent Cross by supporting the transition to electric vehicles.”
Rob Byrne, managing director of Franklin Energy, described the project as a “great initiative”, adding it reflected “the forward-thinking views of Brent Cross’ major stakeholders”.
Read more about electric vehicles and retail on Green Retail World
[Image credit: Hammerson]
