Irish forecourt and convenience retailer Maxol has opened the first dedicated Ultra Rapid EV charging hub in Northern Ireland at the newly expanded Kinnegar Service Station in Holywood, County Down.
The hub features four high-powered rapid and ultra-rapid chargers including a 200kw charge point that can charge a single vehicle in as little as 15 minutes.
There are a further two 150kw charge points that can service four vehicles at any one time and a single 50KW rapid charge point. Up to six vehicles can be charged at one time and the chargers are powered using renewable electricity.
Brian Donaldson, chief executive of The Maxol Group, said: “This is a landmark moment for Maxol and for Northern Ireland. Maxol has delivered the first dedicated Ultra Rapid EV charging hub in Northern Ireland, to build on the charging points we already have in place at Townparks in Antrim, at Mallusk in Belfast and later this month we will unveil another charge point at our newly refurbished site at Edenderry.
“Maxol continues to invest in and develop the right infrastructure across our service station network to support the move to electric. At all these developments we worked closely with the team in NI Electric Networks to provide the necessary grid capacity to power the chargers and additional requirements for each location.
“More importantly for our customers, Kinnegar has been developed to offer the ultimate in convenience. While customers charge their car, they can visit the brand new EuroSpar with extensive range, grab a Barista Bar coffee or a bite to eat at the new Delish Hot Food Bar or stock up on cupboard essentials for all their daily needs. We are a hub in every sense – meeting the needs of our local community, right here on their doorstep.”
The new flagship development, which is part of a broader five-year investment programme, has used technology to create a service station that will enable Maxol to reduce the site’s existing carbon footprint by up to 40%.
Features include photovoltaic (solar) panels to reduce the site’s electrical import requirements; low energy CO2 refrigeration systems; heat pump technology to reduce heating loads; and an energy management system to monitor and control the overall energy usage on the site.
On the forecourt, Kinnegar will continue to service its large customer base with advanced fuels including Maxol Premium, a 100% carbon offset fuel option with fewer pollutants. Parking has more than doubled in capacity to 41 spaces, to ease the flow of traffic on site even during peak trading periods.
Kinnegar’s retail space has almost doubled in size with the opening of a brand new EuroSpar that offers a range of locally produced food including an expanded grocery offer, a large, dedicated butchery section as well as a choice offering of fruit & veg, dairy, and frozen food ranges.
A new Delish food-to-go concept with a self-serve chicken bar has been included in the development and for the first time ever, Maxol have installed three self-checkouts for added speed and convenience for their customers.
Mark McCammond, retail director of Henderson Retail, licensee for Maxol, said: “The completion of the Kinnegar site brings a premium offering for the local area with our exclusive Delish food to go brand serving the high level of passing trade, complemented by bays of fresh, locally sourced products and our own brand ranges that can be picked up for tonight’s tea.
“This is a one-stop-shop and supermarket experience for the local community that has been built with their needs as a top priority.”
A total of 20 new jobs have been created for the local community as a result of the expansion and development.
Donaldson concluded: “This site marks an important step on our journey towards being a more sustainable business. The technologies and innovations we have used here are creating a blueprint that we will apply across our network in larger type locations to deliver a positive change for our customers, the environment, and our industry and that is a very exciting journey to be on.”
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