Superhub to open in Oxford this year will be electric car 'petrol station'

The project, one of the first of its kind in the UK, is known as Energy Superhub Oxford, and is being constructed at Redbridge Park and Ride on Abingdon Road.

It is being built in partnership by Oxford City Council and a group of companies led by EDF offshoot Pivot Power, which are interested in boosting the number of electric vehicle charging points in the UK.

ALSO READ: Dog walker says NHS owes her hundreds for her services

The Government plans to ban the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, and Oxford City Council wants to make the city completely zero carbon by 2040.

The electric vehicle charging superhub planned for Redbridge Park and Ride. Picture: Pivot Power

The council is also introducing a Zero Emissions Zone in the city centre later this year to reduce air pollution, which will require all drivers using fossil fuel burning cars to pay a fee.

Tom Hayes, the city council's deputy leader, said: "For Oxford to go zero carbon by 2040, we need to electrify a lot more of our transportation."

Once finished, it is claimed the Superhub will be the most powerful charging station of its kind in all of Europe, though it may not keep the crown for long, as other similar projects are being rolled out.

Mr Hayes added: "As an innovative city embracing technologies and change, Oxford is the natural home for the UK's largest public EV charging hub."

The new hub will boast 38 charging points which will either charge at a fast or ‘ultra-rapid’ rate of as little as 20 minutes.

ALSO READ: What the new coalition leading Oxfordshire has planned over the next four years

Different kids of electric charging points will be available, as there is not one standardised model of charging port.

This will include 10 Fastned chargers, capable of ‘adding 300 miles of range in just 20 minutes’; 16 Gamma Energy chargers; and 12 Tesla Superchargers.

The chargers will be open every day of the week at all hours, and there will be an on-site café in future so drivers can get a drink while they wait for their vehicle to fully charge.

Solar panels of the roofs above the charging ports, and ground source heat pumps below them will help to provide energy for the charging ports.

The electric vehicle charging superhub planned for Redbridge Park and Ride. Picture: Pivot Power

While the Oxford Superhub is among the first of its kind, Pivot Power has plans for 40 of the charging stations in other parts of the UK.

Matt Allen, CEO at Pivot Power, said: “Energy Superhub Oxford supports EDF’s plan to become Europe’s leading e-mobility energy company by 2023, and is a blueprint we want to replicate right across the country, working hand in hand with local communities to create cleaner, more sustainable cities where people want to live and work.”

Other companies have announced similar plans, including BP Pulse, a subsidiary of the petrol giant, which plans to roll out charging hubs across the country.

And in Braintree, Essex, a charging hub has already opened, but the power supply is not as powerful or as fast as the Oxford Superhub will be.

Energy Superhub Oxford’s website describes it as a ‘demonstrator project’, with funding provided by the UK Government.

A project started by Oxford City Council, now being continued by Oxfordshire County Council, is also increasing the number of on-street charging points which run out of gulleys and lampposts.