When it comes to EV charging, we basically need all we can get. In many places, the main highway has enough chargers to theoretically get through, but as more and more people go electric and more and more cars are stopping at these stations, things can get crowded fast. Long lines are the obvious problem at a station with only a few stalls, but continuous use has also been a problem for badly-designed stations from a few years ago.
So, long story short, there will need to be many more stations and they’re all going to need to have as many stalls as possible. That’s the challenge the industry faces if we’re aiming for all new cars to be EVs by 2030-40.
This is exactly why I’m happy to share some news out of Wales. Tritium, a charging station manufacturer, made an exciting announcement a few days ago. Tritium will be supplying rapid chargers for what will soon be Wales’ largest EV charging facility. This new site, located at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, will provide convenient access for locals, visitors, and staff. With a total of 40 stalls, including five rapid Tritium 75kW DC chargers with 10 connectors, it is set to become a hub for EV charging away from home in the area.
“While the UK Government has now confirmed plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035, the rollout of EV charging infrastructure must continue to accelerate to meet their target to install 300,000 public charging stations by 2030. Wales has a major role to play in this acceleration so that the whole of the UK transport network is electrified, allowing drivers to traverse the country,” said Tritium CEO Jane Hunter. “Our latest installation at the National Library of Wales brings much-needed fast chargers to Wales, and Tritium is proud to be part of a solution that is encouraging both sustainable travel and opportunity charging at this national landmark in Aberystwyth.”
The library will operate the charging stations on a day-to-day basis and own them. Perhaps more importantly, the management seems to be happy about it. “This is a major step forward in our offer to visitors and in achieving our well-being goals set out in our Strategic Plan in line with the Future Generations Act,” said Pedr ap Llwyd, Librarian and Chief Executive of the National Library of Wales. “We are proud to have worked with Tritium to secure the largest EV facility in Wales to date and will welcome all who wish to use the charging facilities as well as using that time to visit our exhibitions, café, and shop.”
Having the host site or station owner is essential. If there’s only weak buy-in, a charging station could go down for good when things get hard with maintenance or expenses later on. But, when a host stays excited and supportive of the project, a station has a bright future ahead!
But, countries that are further along in the adoption curve show us that Wales will need many, many more stations with this many stalls. For example, there’s a station in China I wrote about a couple months ago with a whopping 258 stalls. So, there’s still a lot of work to do.
Featured image provided by Tritium.