Shell Has Launched EV Charging Points At Petrol Stations

Shell has done the sensible thing and started to roll out electric car charging points at its network of fuel stations. We knew it had to happen.

Three forecourts have been fitted with EV fast-chargers; the London Holloway site, one at Whyteleaf in Surrey and another in Derby. Shell says seven more will be up and running by the end of 2017, with an area set aside so that EV chargers won’t block petrol pumps. It’s not clear, however, how many electric cars can charge at any one site at the same time.

The idea is to provide every type of fast-charging connection. The sites will initially provide 50kW DC, 43kW AC Type 2, Chademo and CCS (combined charging system) connections. Negotiations are ongoing with Tesla to fit Superchargers to every site as well.

Shell says the service will be half price until the end of June 2018, and paid for via the Smoov app. At the moment it costs 25p per kilowatt-hour, and will be 50p after that. A 40kWh Nissan Leaf will theoretically cost no more than £10 to charge. In reality it will be less, typically no more than £8, as the fast chargers tend to slow right down at 80 per cent charge anyway, and most people won’t want to wait.

For the current discounted price, the miles per gallon cost equivalent works out as about 81mpg. It’s still cheaper to charge at home, but only just - until the price goes up. What’s more, all the electricity comes from renewable sources.