InstaVolt has found a way of getting past the limited grid connections at its Corley services site on the M6 motorway – 15 new 160kW charge points are being supported by battery storage facilities on the site. The batteries are charged up with a constant flow of electricity that can be deployed during times of peak demand to ensure a consistent charge speed, says the company.
West Berkshire council has signed an agreement with Connected Kerb to install 600 chargers in the authority’s area in the south of England, chiefly centred around Newbury and Thatcham, but taking in some of the surrounding villages. The council says £382,000 of funding has come from the DfT’s regional infrastructure fund, with extra money from Connected Kerb.
Shell has discontinued its EV specific app for charging in favour of upgrading its main app used by all drivers to get points for petrol and expensive sandwich purchases. The company says that EV drivers who use the Shell Recharge app can download the Shell app and log in using their Recharge username and password.
Another InstaVolt story, this time how its GPS tracking technology helped minimise the impact of two cable thefts at its rapid charging stations. In both instances, cables stolen from the sites on the outskirts of Bedworth and Cambridge were recovered by police thanks to the company’s tracking tech, and they could find where the metal had been stashed. InstaVolt's CEO has described cable theft as a “serious and growing challenge”.
Gridserve will open its fifth electric forecourt in summer 2026 – the company is currently building the facility at Markham Vale, at junction 29A of the M1. It’s going to have ‘at least’ 22 ultra rapid charging points capable of up to 400kW charging speeds, as well as some dedicated charging provision for electric HGVs. The company’s also celebrating the fifth anniversary since it started building its first electric forecourt at Braintree in Essex.
Another bit of news from Connected Kerb – it’s rolling out its ‘smart charging’ feature to more locations over longer periods. The company offers cheaper rates (44p/kWh) for slower charging at times of peak demand, and vice versa. If you want to charge faster it offers charging at a premium (54p/kWh). You can tell the Connected Kerb app how much juice you want and when you need it by and it’ll do the calculations for you.
Gridserve's latest forecourt opens summer 2026 – if you drive up the M1 now you'll arrive just in time 
