Chargepoint operator Instavolt has bought £2.5m worth of huge batteries that will deliver constant charging speeds for EV drivers at five of its sites.
A Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is a large (up to shipping-container size) battery that draws electricity from the grid when demand and prices are low, holding the power until a driver plugs in to charge, at which point they receive a guaranteed minimum charging speed, as well as benefitting from cheaper electricity.
Instavolt has already installed the systems at five sites, including its Winchester ‘superhub’, at a cost of £2.5m; the firm has a further 20 installations planned for the year.
Forecourt operators have also installed the systems, with Tebay Services recently submitting a planning application for a 2.3 megaWattt BESS, and JP&S putting a three-tonne battery in a new basement room under its Godalming forecourt as the local grid can only deliver electricity at 75kW.
Delvin Lane, Instavolt’s chief executive, said a BESS “lets us deploy faster, manage our costs more effectively, and pass genuine savings on to drivers”.
He explained: “Our batteries charge overnight when energy is cheaper and cleaner, and we draw on that stored power during the more expensive daytime hours. That saving goes to the consumer.
“The programme addresses two structural pressures that are intensifying across the public charging sector: escalating network demand charges, which increase in line with peak power draw, and grid connection delays that are holding back deployment of the rapid charging infrastructure the UK needs.”
