Fuel-card company Allstar has launched a new payment network for commercial trucks and vans that brings together both public chargers and ‘semi-private’ devices at depots and similar locations.
The firm’s new Commercial Charging Payment Network has been specifically designed for light commercial and heavy goods vehicles run by fleets, with charging locations chosen to ensure they offer pull-through bays, wide turning spaces and enough power to charge the batteries of larger vehicles.
Some devices on the network can deliver electricity at one megawatt (1,000kW) – roughly 10 times faster than rapid car chargers for cars. As well as providing access to semi-private chargers, locations operated by Gridserve’s Electric Freightway, plus devices operated by Fleete, and InstaVolt, come under Allstar’s new network.
The firm says chargers are located “along key logistics corridors”, with some semi-private sites being pre-bookable so hauliers have no need to queue for chargers.
The proposition provides a fresh alternative for operators of commercial fleets who have previously believed that installing their own hugely expensive depot chargers is “the only long-term answer”.
Tom Rowlands, managing director of global EV solutions at Corpay, Allstar’s parent company, comments:
“Commercial fleets do not just need access to charging but they need infrastructure that fits around the realities of running a fleet. For many operators, the choice has been between public charging infrastructure that is not designed for larger commercial vehicles, or the significant investment needed to build dedicated depot infrastructure.
“We are giving fleets another option: scalable charging access designed around operational requirements, without the cost and complexity of building and managing their own charging estate.”
