TotalEnergies and SSE have established a joint venture named ‘Source’ aimed at expanding EV charging infrastructure across the UK and Ireland.
The new joint venture plans to set up as many as 3000 high power charging points within the next five years, responding to growing demand from EV owners and fleet operators for fast and dependable charging solutions.
Source’s strategy involves creating around 300 EV hubs, each equipped with high power charge points of 150 kW or higher. These hubs will be strategically placed in and around urban areas and will utilise renewable energy supplied by SSE and TotalEnergies. Several of these hubs are currently under construction, with numerous others in the planning stages.
The new network will include SSE’s new EV hub in Dundee, with the company confirming to Electrical Review that, “All existing and upcoming SSE branded EV Charging Hubs across UK&I will, in due course, be updated to reflect the new brand of Source as the business develops. Following this rebrand rollout, all subsequent hubs will bear the Source branding from each launch.”
What’s not clear, however, is whether the joint venture will include TotalEnergies’ Source London network. With the new network borrowing the name from Source London, it would make sense to have it be part of the joint venture, especially as it would give it a massive head start in its goal of capturing 20% of the UK and Ireland’s EV charging market. We’ve reached out for comment and will update the article as soon as we know more.
Neil Kirkby, Managing Director of Enterprise at SSE, commented, “SSE is already playing a leading role in decarbonising the UK and Ireland’s power system including building the world’s largest offshore wind farm and transforming electricity networks. Now this agreement will help accelerate progress towards a decarbonised transport system too, ensuring the vehicles that keep the economy moving can do so in a more sustainable and efficient way.”
Mathieu Soulas, Senior Vice President New Mobilities at TotalEnergies, noted, “TotalEnergies is proud to contribute to the development of electric mobility to decarbonize transportation in the UK and Ireland. This is a great opportunity to extend our network in Europe and stake out a key position as a reference high-power charging player. We want to offer our customers – passenger cars and fleet alike – a nationwide, ultra-fast and reliable charging service that allows them to travel efficiently with complete peace of mind.
“This development also contributes to our integrated power strategy in the UK, combining renewable and flexible power generation capacity, trading and marketing of low-carbon electricity available 24 hours a day.”
