bp is making giant strides with its charging infrastructure across Europe, leveraging its extensive network of service stations as hubs.
Currently, the British company boasts approximately 27,000 charging points worldwide. The majority are located in the United Kingdom and Germany.
During the “Mobility Portal Charge Infrastructure Summit,” Ildefonso Boto López, General Manager of Electrification for Southern Europe at bp, confirmed that the company aims to reach 100,000 by the year 2030.
In its effort to achieve this goal, the company has recently announced an exclusive agreement with M&S in the UK.
In collaboration with this entity, they intend to expand its national charging network with high-speed electric vehicle (EV) charge points at around 70 stores.
The initial ambition is to install up to 900 bp pulse charge points.
It’s worth mentioning that bp has inaugurated the largest charging center in the United Kingdom, featuring over 180 stations allowing simultaneous charging for 180 electric vehicles.
Simultaneously, Aral (their brand in Germany) has signed a partnership with Rewe (a supermarket chain) to install charging points across 180 stores in Germany.
In addition, recently the company has entered into an agreement with APCOA, the parking management firm, with whom they will build over 100 fast-charging centers in the heart of urban centers across Europe.
This deployment will reach Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom over the next three years.
Berlin and Bremen (Germany) will be the first urban centers to offer 24/7 access to ultra-fast charging.
Additionally, in collaboration with Iberdrola, bp will invest up to one billion euros to implement up to 11,000 public fast and ultra-fast charging points in Spain and Portugal by 2030.
While the company has a strong presence in the German market, where it has been active since 2019, they have achieved significant growth in these two countries.
At this moment, they operate more than 2,000 ultra-fast charging points there, and they plan to reach approximately 3,000 by March 2024, with an investment of over 100 million euros.
It is noteworthy that they recently reached 1 million charges in the country.
On the other hand, it’s worth mentioning that bp will continue to invest in various locations.
“We are entering a new market next year, in France, which we believe will be one of the key markets for us,” anticipates Boto López.
bp is investing in fast charging
Presently, bp is also working on the development of high-speed chargers surpassing 300 kWh, with the goal of achieving Level 4 charging.
In this regard, the company aspires to have 90% of its charging points as fast or ultra-fast charging.
With the objective of reducing its operational emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to 2019, bp will carry out an orderly transition based on rapid decarbonisation without undermining the balance between supply and demand.
In doing so, they aim to avoid energy shortages and price increases that affect citizens and businesses. And this applies to mobility as well.
They do this to avoid price situations that could be detrimental to customers, businesses, and governments.
The firm is committed to addressing this challenge strategically and sustainably.
bp’s international outlook
Currently, bp is present in another countries such as the United States, Australia, New Zealand, China, and India.
The most significant project for the company involves its $100 million investment in Tesla chargers, representing the first equipment sales transaction to an external entity.
The agreement is part of bp’s plans to invest up to $1 billion in electric vehicle charging in the United States by 2030.
From 2024, Tesla chargers will be installed throughout the bp Pulse network, including key bp, Amoco, ampm, and Thorntons-branded sites, TravelCenters of America, and Gigahub™ charging sites.
These chargers will not only be available to the public but also to specific customers.
They will have the option to connect through two different standards, both North American Charging Standard (NACS) and Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors, “making them versatile and accessible.”
At this point, Boto emphasizes, “We are really looking into working with customers and trying to find the best solutions for them.”
