£4m ‘Charging Oasis’ to open in Manchester

The UK charging network Be.EV has announced a £4m investment in a new charging hub on the site of a derelict petrol station in Manchester. The new hub will offer a number of fast chargers as well as a number of services for drivers.

The charging hub will feature 12 parking bays with six fast chargers capable of delivering up to 300kW of power. Be.EV says this will provide up to 523km (325 miles) of charge within 20 minutes. There will also be an additional four parking bays for those waiting to use the chargers.

The new site is located in the town of Failsworth, a town near Oldham in the Greater Manchester region. Be.EV says it wants to create a ‘green electric forecourt and community hub’ on the site, which, according to these plans, includes a Caffè Nero Express coffee shop and a garden area.

Asif Ghafoor, CEO of BE.EV, commented: “Be.EV are on a mission to improve community access to EV charging and with the Manchester Charging Oasis we are putting our money where our mouth is. This once-derelict site is set to become a key transport feature of the community – a thriving hub buzzing with activity.”

The project is part of a wider redevelopment of the local area that has been coined the ‘Northern Gateway’, and is the target of new investment by the Greater Manchester authorities. This includes a nearby solar farm development in Wrigley Head, although Be.EV have not said whether this will help power their charging hub.

Based in Manchester, Be.EV operates around 800 charging bays across the UK, which is set to increase to 1,600 by the end of the year. These bays feature chargers range from ‘Ultra-Rapid’ 300kW and ‘Rapid’ 50kW to ‘Fast Charging’ 22kW types. The firm is majority owned by Octopus Energy Generation, a significant UK energy firm.

Source: Info via email