Ahead of the launch of its latest ultra-rapid hub in Scotland, Fastned’s UK country director Tom Hurst spoke to Norrie Hunter about the company’s plans for the country.

Tom Hurst, UK country director at Fastned

Scotland is about to benefit from yet another ultra-rapid fast charging hub courtesy of Fastned.

Due to go live imminently, it is located in the central belt of the country just west of Glasgow in the Renfrewshire coastal town of Greenock.

Currently, Fastned has a total of 32 hubs in the UK (four of these in Scotland) housing almost 190 ultra-rapid charge points. There are a further 33 charging hubs in development, six of which are in Scotland.

The company is well-placed as one of the top players in the EV charge point market in Europe and, according to UK country director, Tom Hurst, it’s making decisions on where the firm’s chargers are best located, based not just on how many EVs are on the roads today but also “the future rises in uptake and therefore future demand” in a move that “demonstrates clear confidence in the EV market in the UK and a commitment to the country’s EV transition”.

In an exclusive interview, Norrie Hunter asked Hurst to elaborate in respect of the latest moves in Scotland.

What is your overall view of the EV market in the UK and where are the development opportunities for Fastned?

We have two hubs in and around Glasgow, one in in Dundee and another just outside of Edinburgh and plan to open one in Greenock this month. We build charging hubs where there are cars.

Fastned’s iconic yellow solar canopies. Image courtesy of Paul Read Photography

We’re not just looking at how many EVs are around today, but the total number of cars on the road. This helps us predict the amount of customers we will have in the future as the EV transition continues.

That’s why we’ve made significant investment in the region and are currently developing multiple locations for brand new ultra-rapid charging hubs. This will also expand our Scottish network into the north east, as far as Huntly, and further across the central belt.

The main conurbations, including Scotland’s central belt, are well provided with EV charge points – the view is that it’s the more remote / rural areas of the country that are in need of chargers, both for communities and visitors. Is it your intention to install more charge points in such areas or is the commercial viability prohibitive?

Because our charging hubs are ultra-rapid and always within a two-minute drive of major roads, we make it easy for drivers topping up their battery on short journeys or to power up for longer journeys. Our hubs are also in convenient locations, which means drivers arriving and leaving rural areas benefit too. Our aim is to make charging as accessible as possible while being able to serve the maximum amount of drivers.

Public en-route ultra-rapid charging is an important piece of the charging puzzle. It is part of a wider network of EV charging that works to suit everyone’s needs. Home charging, on-street and destination charging, in restaurant, hotel and cinema car parks, are needed alongside en-route charging hubs, especially in lower traffic or rural areas.

In Scotland, the administration / management of Scotland’s 3,000 plus public charge points will soon transfer from ChargePlace Scotland to either local authorities, who may go into partnerships with charge point operators (CPOs), or operators themselves. What is your view on this and do you see this as an opportunity to expand here?

It’s great that Scotland has clearly committed to supporting drivers in making the shift to EVs. The ChargePlace Scotland network is really useful for drivers who park their cars for longer durations. As this doesn’t align with our strategy, we are focusing on finding sites in Scotland that are on or just off the highway and targeted at drivers spending less time at the charger.

Unlike most other CPOs, Fastned chargers are also powered by solar/wind while, obviously, having to also use power from the national grid. Does this make them ideal for remote locations – i.e. through using less grid energy?

Our iconic yellow solar canopies at many of our stations not only shelter our customers while they charge, but also power the lighting and CCTV at our charging hubs.

All our hubs use 100% renewable energy. Any extra energy generated however is sold back to the grid. The energy generated from our solar canopies may not power our chargers but it does cover the cost of installing the panels over its lifetime.

[Regarding new battery technologies, Fastned says it has future-proofed its charging hubs by installing 400kW chargers, which keep up with the battery technology found in some of the newest EVs on the road.]

Are all Fastned chargers accessible using multiple charge payment methods such as the Paua card and app for fleet and business users?

We make charging hassle-free and easy, that’s why we offer multiple payment methods at our charging hubs. You can easily pay via our app, charge card or with your credit or debit card. We also offer Autocharge, which means that drivers can simply drive up, plug in and drive away again. No buttons to push; payment is fully automatic.

We developed Autocharge so that all electric drivers could enjoy the same seamless charging experience. Once you’ve added your car details and activated Autocharge in the Fastned app, you’re good to go.

All our chargers can indeed be used with the Paua card or app.

Norrie Hunter is a motoring and industry journalist, and has been an EV owner/driver for four years