British food and home goods retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) and BP Pulse, an electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure supplier and subsidiary of the oil and gas giant, have signed an agreement to bring rapid chargepoints to M&S stores across the UK.
The project will involve the installation of 900 initial EV chargepoints around 70 of M&S’s UK stores within the next two years. This will also mark the expansion of BP Pulse’s network and will reportedly add 40,000 kWhs of charging capacity to the UK’s EV infrastructure.
BP Pulse claims its UK network is made up of more than 9,000 charging points, including 3,000 rapid and ultra-rapid stations.
To cater for a range of customer needs, the chargepoint provider has said it will be implementing a mix of ultra-rapid (150kW) and rapid (50kW) chargepoints during the roll-out.
What’s more, 15 rapid chargepoints are reportedly already live and open to the public at M&S Maidstone Eclipse and Southgate following pilot installations.
The two companies have a relationship dating back to 2005, with more than 250 BP pulse charge points already being available at more than 60 BP-operated forecourts offering M&S Food.
This new agreement is a major extension of this relationship, the pair claim.
Sacha Berendji, director of operations said: “At M&S we’re reshaping the business for sustainable future growth in every sense.
“From our award-winning Shwopping initiative to our Fill Your Own refill concept, EV charging is the latest feature to ensure we have a store estate fit for the future, to help our customers live lower carbon lives.
“We know that services like EV charging are in demand from our customers, so we’re delighted to be offering this service and give more reasons for customers to shop with us.”
Akira Kirton, CEO at BP Pulse UK said: “We aim to provide fast, reliable, and convenient EV charging to our customers that fits in with their busy lifestyles and so, we are excited to extend our relationship with M&S to put high-speed charge points at their stores, growing our network even further.
“This is exactly the kind of collaboration the UK needs to help accelerate the transition to lower carbon transport and we’re delighted to be working with M&S to make that happen.”
BP Pulse reports that it is the most utilised electric vehicle charging operator in the UK and that it plans to back Britain’s energy industry with an investment of up to £18bn by 2030, including £1bn for EV charging infrastructure.
