Thanks to our partner Franklin Energy, Brent Cross Shopping Centre is set to be the largest electric car charging hub in the UK within the next 5 years.
Based in Liverpool, Franklin Energy are a leading electric vehicle charge point operator in the UK market. EVBox Group has a long-standing partnership with Franklin Energy, identifying and providing solution for Franklin Energy’s customers. Our customisable and reliable charging solutions continue to contribute to the fast growth of Franklin Energy’s LiFe charging network, the first privately funded charging network with publicly accessible charge ports in the UK.
Together with Hammerson and Aberdeen Standard Investments, the joint owners of Brent Cross Shopping Centre in London, Franklin Energy will be delivering the largest charging facility in the UK to the shopping centre’s car park over the next five years. Upon completion, there will be up to 236 charging ports that will be maintained and operated by Franklin Energy on their LiFe charging network.
Franklin Energy will supply EVBox BusinessLine and Ultroniq for the car park in phases. The first phase is due to be completed by the end of 2021 and will consist of 50 EVBox BusinessLine and 2 EVBox Ultroniq. EVBox BusinessLine is able to fully charge an EV battery in 1-2 hours, allowing customers to enjoy their retail and leisure experience at Brent Cross, then driving away fully charged. Furthermore, the car park is easily accessible and will provide increasingly sought-after charging ports for the estimated 80 million cars that pass on nearby major highways and interchanges per year.
This is what Rob Byrne, Managing Director at Franklin Energy, has to say:
“We look forward to working with Hammerson and Aberdeen Standard Investments to install a new rapid and fast charging hub in anticipation of the mass adoption of EVs amongst the large customer base of Brent Cross Shopping Centre and more widely in the UK. It is a great initiative that reflects the forward-thinking views of Brent Cross’ major stakeholders, and we can’t wait to begin the installation process.”
50
charging ports (22kW AC)
2
ultra-rapid charging ports (350kW DC)
236
total charging ports due to be installed over the next 5 years
Louise Ellison, Group Head of Sustainability at Hammerson, added:
“At Hammerson, we are continuously looking for innovative ways to adapt our centres to the changing demands of our customers. The installation of the UK’s largest EV charging facility will not only attract more visitors to our centres at a time when we are expecting to see a significant increase in electric vehicles on the roads, but also shows our continued commitment to tackling climate change, as we continue our journey towards becoming net positive by 2030. Combined with our renewable electricity contracts, this service has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of visitors to Brent Cross by supporting the transition to electric vehicles.”
Niall Macdonald, Deputy Fund Manager for the Aberdeen Standard UK Shopping Center Trust, added
“Aberdeen Standard Investment’s ESG approach is focused on four key forces for change: Environment and climate, governance and engagement, demographics and technology and infrastructure. Electric Vehicle charging is a key component of our approach as we ensure our property portfolios are future proof and allow us to facilitate the decarbonisation of the economy to meet the 2050 net-zero carbon targets. The scale of this installation of electric vehicle charging points at Brent Cross is our most ambitious to date and we believe it will provide a fantastic service to our customers allowing them to make the change to EV confident in the knowledge that this facility is available to them.”
The electric vehicle market has grown dramatically in recent years, with sales of battery electric vehicles and plug-in electric hybrid electric vehicles accounting for a total of 10% of vehicle sales in the UK in 2020, a 7% increase from 2019, where they only account for 3% of total vehicle sales. Meanwhile, the UK government is planning to ban sales of all new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, thereby accelerating the transition to electric mobility.
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