Shell is to host the UK’s first ultra-fast charging points installed under the manufacturer-backed Ionity network, which is targeting 400 sites across Europe by 2020.

Shell is currently rolling out fast charging points on its forecourts.

A joint venture of BMW, Daimler, Ford and Volkswagen with Audi and Porsche, Ionity’s network will offer 350kW charging, seven times higher output than today’s rapid chargers, at 75-mile (120km) intervals on major European routes. The sites will typically feature six chargers, all using the Combined Charging System (CCS) connector.

Shell, which recently opened its first forecourt charging points in the UK, and has just acquired charging network operator NewMotion, is a strategic partner in ten countries; Belgium, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. It’s unclear whether these will be offered under its own Shell Recharge service, or as an independent service.

Ionity has also formed partnerships with German forecourt operator Autobahn Tank & Rast, Austrian company OMV, and American convenience store company Circle K, which has sites in several European countries. These are claimed to have secured around half of the 400 sites the company has planned for its network, and span 18 countries.

Marcus Groll, COO of Ionity, said: “The agreements with these prestigious partners constitute an important initial milestone in our relatively short company history. So in the future, we will be able to offer a large number of fast charging stations at attractive sites along major roads in Europe.”