Zest has announced a new partnership with Starbucks franchise operator Café Fortune. Zest is providing six 120kW rapid charging bays at the newly opened Starbucks Alfreton site.
Starbucks Alfreton is the first of a series of sites for the partnership, with rollout at pace planned for several Starbucks drive-thrus nationwide. The provision of the chargers is aligned with Starbucks’ environmental commitments to reduce its carbon footprint and innovate operations.
In addition to developing the charging infrastructure, Zest will fully manage and operate the chargepoints. Zest, a certified B Corp, is backed by the government-sponsored £420m Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, meaning it can invest in projects such as Alfreton and accelerate the provision of public-access EV chargepoints in a sustainable manner.
Zest says the Alfreton deployment marks the first of many food and beverage hubs it will develop, with more sites signed countrywide. The hubs form a key element of Zest’s ongoing strategy to rollout convenient charging infrastructure that synchronises with drivers’ everyday lives.
Ian Gill, property director at Café Fortune, said: “The addition of EV chargepoints to our sites gives customers an added reason to visit and aligns with our commitment to being a greener company. There is a strong synergy between these uses and we look forward to this site being the first of many.”
Robin Heap, CEO and founder of Zest, said: “For a smooth transition to EV adoption we need to install abundant charging across the UK. Our long-term partnership with Café Fortune will give people an additional reason to visit the development and allows customers to charge at a time that’s convenient for them. We look forward to working with Café Fortune on future sites and responding to the fast-growing population of EV drivers.”
