BP Pulse pledges £2m to upgrading outdated EV chargers

Charger provider will help local authorities update EV infrastructure in push to improve network’s reliability

BP Pulse is committing £2 million to help local authorities upgrade and replace EV chargers across the UK.

The charging company, formerly known as BP Chargemaster, has already invested more than £400,000 in upgrading more than 50 existing chargers, which were typically installed using government funding around 10 years ago and are owned by local authorities.

Some of these older devices are now “no longer usable” by EV drivers, according to BP Pulse, which aims to “radically improve” the country’s oft-criticised charging network.

Another £700,000 is now set to be allocated to the replacement and upgrading of another 300-plus units across the country, as part of an overall £2m fund set aside by the company.

In Milton Keynes, BP Pulse has replaced the majority of chargers from third-party manufacturers with more powerful, UK-made 50kW units featuring contactless payment terminals.

According to BP Pulse, the upgrades allow the company to provide “more effective operational support and ongoing maintenance of the network”.

BP Pulse will work together with local authorities to deliver the upgrades. It will focus on early chargers that, it claims, were installed a decade ago without “long-term sustainability in mind” and have suffered from underinvestment.

BP Pulse CEO Matteo de Renzi said: “While we remain focused on expanding our network, in particular with the proliferation of convenient ultra-fast charging, we know that many of the issues experienced by drivers come from legacy charging infrastructure, so our investment in upgrading it will significantly improve the experience of EV drivers across the country.”

BP Pulse is one of several energy firms devoted to improving the UK’s charger network. Last month, energy giant Shell promised a huge expansion of its EV charging network, with a goal of reaching 500,000 chargers worldwide by 2025. By the end of this year, it plans to have a total of 200 rapid and ultra-rapid units on forecourts across the UK.

BP Pulse was created in 2018 when oil company BP bought Chargemaster – the largest EV charging network in the UK – for £130m, and it was renamed BP Pulse last December.

It recently secured a £21m deal to supply more than 1000 EV chargers to Police Scotland.

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*BP Chargemaster nets £21m Police Scotland EV charging deal*