environment magazine

Ecotricity launches the Electric Highway World’s first national network for electric car charging

By Dale Vince, CEO Ecotricity

For first time electric vehicles will be able to travel the length and breadth of Britain using the world’s first national charging network at motorway service stations across the country.

The Electric Highway will be powered by Ecotricity who generate their electricity from a series of wind and solar mills spread across the country. Electric car drivers (and motorcycle riders) will be able to drive from London to Edinburgh or Exeter completely free and with virtually no emissions.

Dale Vince OBE, founder of Ecotricity, said: “We’ve created the world’s first national charging network for electric cars.  That may sound a bit grand, for something quite wonderfully simple - a series of charging posts installed at motorway services up and down the country.

“Until now, charging posts have all been in city centres like London, but this is where you need them the least. Statistics show that it’s not in towns and cities where electric cars need to recharge, but on longer journeys between cities – and that means motorways.”

The first six ‘top-up zones’ have been installed at Welcome Break motorway service stations between London, Bristol and Birmingham.

They include South Mimms Services at the Junction of the M1 and M25, Oxford Services on the M40, Hopwood Park Services on the M42, Membury Services on the M4 and Michaelwood Services on the M5. The sixth charging point is at the base of Ecotricity’s wind turbine on the M4 near Reading.

The first phase of the network spread across 12 motorway services will be completed during October.

Vince said: “People have asked why we are building this Electric Highway. There are after all only about 2,000 electric cars on the road today. In fact that’s a big part of the reason – a lack of demand.  

“It’s often said that one of the reasons more people don't buy electric cars is because of a lack of charging facilities – while the reason more charging facilities aren’t built is said to be because not enough people are buying electric cars  – classic chicken and egg stuff.  We’re hoping to break that impasse.

“We’re creating the infrastructure to get Britain’s electric car revolution moving.

“This breakthrough in electric car infrastructure also removes one of the main barriers for people wanting to buy electric cars – range anxiety – which currently restricts people to driving within their own city because they think they will run out of power between cities.”

The average car in Britain does around 20 miles a day, a distance that most modern electric cars can sustain for almost a week without needing to charge. Most car owners have access to off street parking (around 70%) – and therefore will be able to charge at home, at night.  Most cars won’t need to charge, most days.  It’s the longer journeys where charging is needed most. Vince said: “This marks the beginning of the end for the old combustion engine. With world oil prices going through the roof, you’ll now be able to get around Britain using only the power of the wind. It costs just over 1p a mile in an electric vehicle, compared to 15.4p in a petrol car (at today’s oil prices).

“We consume 23 million tonnes of oil every year in the UK to do the 250 billion miles we drive every year. But we could power all that with 12,000 of today’s windmills, or just 6,000 of tomorrow’s.”

To convert the entire UK vehicle fleet to electric would require an increase in electricity delivered through the grid of about 12%. 

Vince said: “To put that into context, pre the credit crunch, grid delivered electricity grew by around 3% a year, so we’re talking just four years normal growth to power all the UK’s cars.  With most charging taking place overnight at home, at times of low demand, the grid can easily cope.”

Each charge point will be located outside the main entrance of Welcome Break service stations, with two sockets that can be accessed by registering for a free swipe card. Within 18 months all 27 Welcome Break motorway services will have charging points.

Electric cars can top-up in just 20 minutes using fast charge points (32A supply) or fully charge in two hours; while those using the slower (13A supply) will be able to recharge fully if staying overnight at motorway service hotels.

Rod McKie, CEO of Welcome Break, said: “We are very excited about working with Ecotricity.  There is no doubt that the electric car will arrive on Britain's motorways and Welcome Break wants to be at the forefront of giving the modern motorist what they want, when they want it.  As hybrid and electric cars become part of everyday life, Welcome Break will have the facility to fast-charge these cars, giving electric car drivers the opportunity to travel the length and breadth of the UK.

Welcome Break operates throughout the UK with locations as far afield as Scotland and down to the south-west and south-east of England, serving 80 million customers a year.” A driver doing a year’s typical 8,500miles of motoring could save almost £1,000 in petrol costs at today’s prices, and save around 2,000kg in CO2 emissions.

Electric car owners who want to register for a free swipe card can visit Ecotricity’s website at www.ecotricity.co.uk/for-the-road

In November 2010, Ecotricity launched the Nemesis, a wind-powered sports car that can reach 0-100mph in 8.5 seconds and with a top speed of 170mph. The first electric supercar to be designed and built in Britain, the Nemesis was created by an A-team of ex-Formula 1 engineers with the brief to “blow the socks off Jeremy Clarkson” and show that electric cars can be sexy, fast and fun to drive.

Since then, 2011 has been dubbed ‘The Year of the Electric Car’, with major manufacturers launching all-electric mass-market models including the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi MIEV and Peugeot iOn. Ford will also launch an all-electric version of its Ford Focus, on sale in 2013.