Gridserve's new M6 chargers took two years and a lot of work

It’s regularly cited as one of the biggest put-offs for people trying to switch to electric – the lack of chargers. And even when there are chargers around there’s the frustration of them often not being fast enough. Seems like an easy thing to fix, right? 

​Gridserve has just opened 12 rapid chargers apiece on the northbound and southbound services at Knutsford on the M6, just southwest of Manchester. Each is capable of an impressive peak rate of 350kW. Business as usual for a charging company, but the detail of what was involved in the project is an eye opener. 

The company says it had to work with government, the National Grid, the local power supplier, National Highways and the service station operator, Moto, so initiate the project, which has taken two years to implement because of the grid limitations on the area. 

It wasn’t enough for Gridserve to simply install new chargers – a new primary substation had to be built on the edge of the service station to bring upgraded power cables to the site in conjunction with the local distribution network operator (DNO) – Scottish Power in this instance – paid for by a government grant. 

Then the company had to design and install its own network of internal power cables and smaller substations on either side of the motorway to feed both sides. Making sure that both sides were equally well served involved drilling 140 metres under eight lanes of motorway. 

Gridserve CEO Daniel Kunkel said: “Knutsford services is a clear demonstration of Gridserve’s leadership and technical capability in delivering ‘on the go’ ultra-rapid charging. We’re committed to building critical EV infrastructure that is super fast, reliable and convenient – not just where it’s easy to install, but where drivers need it most.”

Gridserve also announced this week that it will be opening seven new ‘super hubs’ across the UK over the next 12 months in conjunction with service station operator Extra. The first of these will be at Beaconsfield, which should be operational in the next few weeks, and the company is opening its first electric HGV charge station at Baldock services before the end of the year. Each of these super hubs will feature a series of 400kW ultra rapid chargers – 96 in total. 

The charging has been improved but it's still Knutsford services – you'll want to get going as quickly as possible