- Alan McCarthy-Wyper, former chief operating officer at Gridserve, to join Moto’s Operating Board as managing director, EV and Energy
- Appointment signals major step change for Moto as it evaluates becoming a charge point operator in its own right alongside its current partners Tesla and Gridserve
- Moto is already exploring the potential for renewable energy generation at 19 of its sites across the UK
- Moto predicts that almost one in three cars arriving at its motorway services in 2030 will be an electric vehicle
Motorway services operator Moto has appointed the former chief operating officer at Gridserve, Alan McCarthy-Wyper, as managing director, EV and Energy, as it eyes becoming a charge-point operator in its own right, alongside current partners Tesla and Gridserve.
Alan will assume responsibility for rapidly accelerating delivery on Moto’s number one strategic priority, to lead the transition to clean fuels.
Moto claims to already be making a significant impact in helping the UK to decarbonise with its roll-out of Ultra Rapid charging hubs for EVs with just under 400 ultra rapid chargers in place across 27 of its motorway service areas and the ambition to have almost 2,500 ultra rapid chargers by 2030.
The company says the creation of this operating board level role and Alan’s appointment is a step change for its leadership on clean fuels as the company looks to take more control of its own destiny. Moto expects to be dispensing the equivalent of a quarter of the power generated by an average size nuclear power station to motorists in just seven years’ time and Alan will be paving the way for the business to explore becoming a charge point operator in its own right as well as pushing forward with independent renewable energy generation plans already being considered at 19 sites across the country.
Alan joins Moto from Gridserve where he had been the company’s chief operating officer for the past four years. Prior to this Alan was chief operating officer at Bladon Micro Turbine and has also held managing director positions at Balfour Beatty plc, KN Group and ISG plc.
Ken McMeikan, Moto Chief Executive said: “Our vision is to transform the UK’s rest stop experience and being a pioneer in the provision of electric charging for motorists is a huge part of that. Alan’s appointment, and the experience he brings with him signals another major step change in our ambitious leadership role around clean fuel transition and decarbonising the UK.
“It’s an exceptionally exciting time for Moto and our customers as we are now evaluating the exciting potential of becoming a charge point operator in our own right, like our partners Gridserve and Tesla, and to forge ahead with our ambition to produce our own renewable energy to compliment the power we currently secure from the seven power companies across the UK. I am delighted we have attracted someone of Alan’s calibre to drive our ambitious plans forwards at pace.”
Moto estimates one in 10 cars on the road in 2025 will be EVs; one in three by 2030 and four in five by 2040. The company’s ambition is to bring ultra-rapid EV infrastructure to the UK’s motorway in order to match this trend and provide for the expanding cohort of EV drivers with more than 1,000 new ultra-rapid chargers being brought to the Moto network by the end of 2025, more than 2,000 by 2030 and almost 5,000 by 2040.
