Roadchef CEO Tim Gittins has warned that the UK’s EV transition risks being held back by a lack of grid capacity at motorway service areas.
Writing in City AM, Gittins argued that motorway services will be central to the next phase of EV adoption, particularly as the UK looks beyond urban charging and towards long-distance journeys, freight and the electrification of the strategic road network.
According to the National Audit Office, only 10% of motorway service areas currently have the grid capacity needed to meet forecast EV charging demand by 2035. That is despite the UK now having more than two million electric vehicles on the road, with public charging infrastructure continuing to expand at pace.
Roadchef is planning to roll out 1,000 EV charging bays across its sites by 2030. The company has also secured 75-year lease extensions across five motorway service areas, including Watford Gap, in partnership with the Department for Transport and National Highways.
Gittins said that certainty would allow Roadchef to invest tens of millions of pounds into upgrading facilities, expanding capacity and preparing sites for the next generation of vehicles.
But the problem he has highlighted is all too familiar for those in the electrical sector. High-powered motorway charging hubs require substantial electrical capacity, and many service areas are located in places where the network may not be ready for that level of demand.
National Grid’s Take Charge project was designed to evaluate the needs of service stations when it came to grid upgrades, with the learnings set to be implemented after the trial period. That period ended in 2023, however, and there continue to be issues for some service stations when it comes to getting an upgraded grid connection.
That issue is likely to become more prevalent in the coming years too. While many service stations now feature EV charging facilities for ordinary cars, we’re now seeing demand rise for HGV charging infrastructure.
While dedicated commercial vehicle charging hubs have begun popping up, including Fleete’s facility at the Port of Tilbury, there is likely to be more demand for en-route charging for freight traffic. Service stations are already well positioned to offer facilities for HGV drivers, but will need further upgrades to their grid connections to enable the charging speeds required.
In his City AM article, he warned, “Currently, grid availability is the biggest barrier to delivering high-powered EV charging infrastructure, particularly in rural and remote areas.
“If the UK is serious about equal EV access and the decarbonisation of freight, policy must address the grid constraints holding back infrastructure at vital points on the strategic road network.”
