Ecotricity, the world’s first green energy company, has confirmed the sale of its pioneering Electric Highway to GRIDSERVE. Electric Highway is the world’s first national charging network for electric cars. The sale will enable Ecotricity to push new boundaries in its core green energy business.
Ecotricity will be able to continue developing some of its great innovations including Britain’s first green gas mill. This revolutionary process creates ‘natural gas’ for the grid simply from grass.
It will also bring forward a series of solar and battery storage projects to be built without government support, while expanding its ‘sky mining’ facility. This is a world-first carbon capture and storage process that turns atmospheric carbon dioxide into diamonds.
The Electric Highway began a decade ago and played a pivotal role in kickstarting the country’s electric car revolution. In a decade, charging has leapt from 3-pin plugs and 7kW charging to the current state-of-the-art 350kW, capable of providing 100 miles of charge in around five minutes, while the typical car range has increased from 80 miles (129km) to over 300 (483km).
Now the UK has over 500,000 plug-in cars with around seven percent of new sales being pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Many of the world’s largest car manufacturers have announced dates for the final production of fossil powered cars and the Government have announced the ban on the sale of new petrol or diesel vehicles by 2030. The unlikely electric vehicle revolution that began 10 years ago will be nearing completion in only 10 more.
With the sale, GRIDSERVE will be ramping up investment in the Electric Highway and replacing it with the latest easy to use fast chargers. Only last month GRIDSERVE opened its first high power charging facility at Rugby motorway services at Rugby, featuring 12 x 350kW chargers.
Dale Vince OBE, Ecotricity founder, said: “We’ve reached an interesting point in the electric car revolution, exponential growth is just around the corner. The Electric Highway needs a growth spurt to make sure that it stays ahead of driver demand and continues to play its key role, as the network that delivers more miles every year than any other.
For this, the Electric Highway needs an owner with access to serious funding and real commitment to the cause. I’m delighted to have found the ideal company to hand the baton to in GRIDSERVE.”
Toddington Harper, GRIDSERVE CEO, said: “It’s a real honour for GRIDSERVE to have been chosen by Ecotricity as the organisation to take the Electric Highway forward in its next phase.
“Our purpose is to deliver sustainable energy and move the needle on climate change, and the upgraded network will provide the confidence for millions more people to make the successful transition to electric vehicles in the earliest possible timeframes.”
