BP GOBBLES up Chargemaster to expand electric car charging on UK forecourts

BP has acquired Chargemaster – which includes the Polar Charging Network – as it aims to grow it electric car charging business on UK forecourts.

Last year we reported that BP was planning to launch electric car charging on its forecourts in the UK as it looks to a future where fossil fuel cars decline and EVs take over, and earlier this year BP bought mobile EV charging company Freewire as its plans rolled forward.

Now BP has taken another big step forward in its plan to roll out EV charging in the UK with the acquisition of Chargemaster, the UK’s largest electric vehicle charging company, which they see as a major step in scaling up the deployment of fast and rapid charging on their UK forecourts.

Chargemaster has the UK’s biggest public network of EV charging points with 6,500 in operation through its POLAR Network, and BP are planning to get an ultrafast charging infrastructure, including 150kW rapid chargers, rolling out in the next twelve months.

Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO of BP Downstream, said:

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 towards offering fast and ultra-fast charging at BP sites across the UK and to BP becoming the leading provider of energy to low carbon vehicles, on the road or at home.

Although charging cars at home is something many EV owners will still do, access to rapid charging at petrol stations will make the whole EV experience far more familiar for new adopters. And far more convenient.