InstaVolt opens UK’s largest ultra-rapid EV charging hub
Winchester Superhub has 44 ultra-rapid 160kW chargers capable of providing 20-minute charges for compatible electric vehicles...
InstaVolt has opened the country’s largest ultra-rapid public charging site just off the A34 in Winchester. The dedicated EV charging site is equipped with 44 EV chargers that can dispense electricity at up to 160kW, a speed that should boost the batteries of cars that charge the fastest, such as the Kia EV6 and Polestar 3, from 10% to 80% in 20 minutes.
The site is open 24 hours-a-day, and lets electric car owners the opportunity to charge up for less at off-peak times. Charging usually costs 85p per kWh, but the price drops to 54p per kWh from 9pm to 7am, making the night-time EV charging cost one of the lowest for ultra-rapid charging.
The Winchester hub is the company's largest site to date, and is located close to the M3 motorway, a main route for holiday drivers, and it aims to offer a swift charging solution for long-distance drivers, commuters and local EV drivers.
The site has a number of drive-through bays for larger vehicles and to accommodate tow cars pulling trailers or caravans. It also has fully accessible bays with extra-wide spaces to make them easier for disabled drivers to use.
The public EV charging hub has a café, toilets and a children’s play area, and there's even a dedicated dog-walking zone. It has been designed to be well-lit at all times. InstaVolt says it will be highly reliable, in line with the brand's 99% reliability rate for its charging network.
It is powered by an on-site solar farm with 870 solar panels and a 960kW battery storage system that both aim to reduce grid demand. When power can’t be supplied by the batteries, it is powered by Octopus Energy, which says it supplies 100% renewable energy.
The Winchester hub is part of InstaVolt’s network of 1800 chargers in the UK. Building it is part of the company’s plan to expand and offer more rapid-charging sites in high-demand locations.
InstaVolt isn’t the UK’s largest public EV charging network provider, though. That claim is staked by Shell Recharge, which operates its own network and the Ubitricity lamp-post charging series of chargers.
And the Winchester Superhub isn’t the country’s largest charging station. The biggest is Birmingham’s Gigahub, at the NEC, which has charging for 180 vehicles - 30 ultra-fast 150KW units and 150 fast 7kW charge points - and is operated by BP Pulse and the EV Network.
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