The public is well versed in additional charges when booking flights, but for electric car owners a trip to Gatwick Airport will soon have a charge that’s welcomed.
That’s because Gatwick is set to become the first international airport in the world to have its own dedicated electric vehicle charging hub on site, which has been confirmed today and will open next autumn.
It will be located on the Ring Road South approach to Gatwick’s South Terminal and adjacent to the M23 and will enable 36 EVs to charge simultaneously using high-speed devices capable of adding 100 miles of range in less than a 10-minute charge session.
An extra charge before a flight that finally makes sense! This is the new Gatwick Electric Forecourt – a dedicated charging station for electric vehicles that’s due to be built and opened by autumn 2022
The news has been confirmed on Thursday by Gridserve, which operates the nation’s Electric Highway network of charging locations and devices across motorways and other major routes.
The development will be built in partnership with Gatwick Airport, with the site called the Gatwick Electric Forecourt.
Multiple charging connectors will cater for all types of electric cars, with the most powerful of the 36 available being 350kW devices.
Drivers can use contactless payment to use the charge points.
Like other Gridserve locations – including the first dedicated electric charging forecourt in Braintree, Essex opened a year ago – it will feature a café, airport-style lounge with free superfast WiFi, supermarket, children’s play area and dedicated EV educational zone.
The site will be supplied with ‘low cost, 100 per cent renewable net zero carbon energy’, which will be generated by a Gridserve solar farms.
Toddington Harper, CEO of Gridserve and who is named after Toddington Services, said this morning: ‘Gatwick isn’t just an airport, it’s an ecosystem of commuters, travellers, staff, taxi drivers, car rental companies, local residents and businesses, all culminating in a transport hub that hosts tens of millions of drivers every single year.
‘The Gatwick Electric Forecourt will give these drivers and businesses the confidence to switch away from petrol and diesel cars, making electric journeys to and from one of the country’s most important transport hubs straightforward and sustainable.’
The new site will enable 36 EVs to charge simultaneously using high-speed devices capable of adding 100 miles of range in less than a 10-minute charge session
The Gatwick Electric Forecourt will be the first dedicated EV charging site at an international airport anywhere in the world
The dedicated electric vehicle charging hub will be located on the Ring Road South approach to Gatwick’s South Terminal and adjacent to the M23
The Electric Forecourt is said to play a pivotal role in Gatwick Airport’s commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions for its internal operations before 2040 and its broader aspirations to become the UK’s most sustainable airport, including through involvement in UK industry plans to reach net zero aircraft emissions by 2050.
Jonathan Pollard, chief commercial officer at Gatwick Airport, added: ‘We are on a journey to create a low carbon economy, and Gatwick is keen to play an important role by providing new infrastructure that everyone can use, so that together we can start reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.
‘Our new high-powered charging facility – delivered by Gridserve – will help meet the increasing need for electric vehicle charging infrastructure at the airport, including the growing number of our passengers who own electric vehicles and need fast, convenient and effective charging facilities.
‘The new charging infrastructure will also benefit people right across our community, including thousands of staff who live locally, businesses looking to introduce electric vehicle fleets – even those operating busses and trucks – and also local residents who may be considering buying an electric-powered car but were undecided due to the lack of charging facilities.’
Like other Gridserve locations it will feature a café, airport-style lounge with free superfast WiFi, supermarket, children’s play area and dedicated EV educational zone
The Electric Forecourt is said to play a pivotal role in Gatwick Airport’s commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions for its internal operations before 2040
The announcement of the new charging hub at Gatwick comes as Gridserve says it is ramping up its efforts to bolster the nation’s EV charging infrastructure.
This includes the completion of Norwich Electric Forecourt, which is in the final construction phase ahead of its scheduled opening in April 2022.
The company also says it is underway with its wide-scale upgrade of the Electric Highway motorway charging network.
More than 20 electric hubs – each featuring between six and 12 350kW ultra high-power chargers – will open at service stations across the UK by the second quarter of 2022, with the majority planned to be installed by the end of March.
A further 50 additional Electric Hub sites will follow, Gridserve says.
