SSE Energy Solutions is to develop a nationwide EV charging network across Ireland in partnership with SSE Airtricity.

A model of the first SSE Airtricity charging hub, planned for the Lough Sheever Corporate Park in Mullingar

The €35m (£30.1m) partnership will bring at least 30 x 150kW ultra-rapid charging hubs over both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland during the next four years, all of which will be powered by 100% green electricity.

The first hub will open at the Lough Sheever Corporate Park in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath next year. The site will be publicly accessible and designed to accommodate long-wheelbase vehicles and buses, as well as cars and fleet vehicles.

Additional hubs with 10 charging bays will follow at Blanchardstown Business Park and Greenogue Industrial Estate in Dublin as part of phase one of the project.

A total of six sites are expected to be online by the end of 2023, with a further 10 due in 2024.

The initiative between the two SSE Group divisions was announced today at the Electric Vehicle Summit 2022 in Dublin, where SSE Airtricity is a headline sponsor.

Klair Neenan, managing director at SSE Airtricity, commented: “With COP27 underway in Egypt, today’s announcement is fitting as we renew our commitment to supporting Ireland’s climate change targets and support the Government’s Climate Action Plan and EV transport targets.”

Figures released last month by the UK’s Department for Transport revealed that Northern Ireland has the lowest level of charging device provision in the UK (18 devices per 100,000), while a 2021 study by the UK’s Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology found that Ireland ranked joint-last in terms of implementing charging infrastructure.

Kevin Welstead, EV sector director for SSE Energy Solutions, said: “At SSE, we have extensive experience in the development and rollout of EV charging infrastructure. From our network in the UK, we understand that when it comes to charging, people just want to get in, get on and get gone. EV drivers don’t want to stress of wondering if the machine is working, or having to wait for three or four cars ahead of them.”

SSE Energy Solutions has committed to launching a comprehensive charging network across the UK and Ireland, installing 300 ultra-rapid charging hubs powered by traceable, renewable energy over the next five years. Its first hub on Castlebank Street in Glasgow went live at the end of September, and the company has also just completed a deal with M7 Real Estate to install charging hubs at the 20 locations M7 manages in the UK.

Welstead added: “We’re really excited about the network we are going to develop over the next four years. In building out this infrastructure, we want to ensure peace of mind for all EV drivers – domestic, car fleet, commercial – that when they show up at one of our facilities, they can will plug in to a working, high power charger as soon as they arrive, and that they be back on the move on in the shortest amount of time possible.”