ABB technology to power largest EV charging sites in North England

28-04-2021

City of York Council is the first to select ABB’s EV Site Solution as part of a charging package that includes ultra-rapid charging, as well as smart energy management to make the most of limited power capacity

ABB technology will provide ultra-fast charging and high availability for electric vehicle (EV) drivers in York as part of a £2.2 million scheme to build the North of England’s largest EV charging sites and support sustainable mobility.

City of York Council has specified the chargers for its two new HyperHub sites, which are due to go live in June 2021 at the Monks Cross and Poppleton sites. Each site will have eight bays for rapid and ultra-rapid charging, while the Monks Cross park and ride will have 30 fast charge points.

The concept was developed to meet growing demand for chargers as the city’s existing charge points are almost at capacity. It will also encourage greater adoption of pure electric cars, particularly for people living without off-street parking where it is difficult to deploy overnight charging. Around 25 percent of York’s housing stock is made up of terraced housing so the sites will help people fit charging into their daily lives with the power to add 100 miles of range within 15 minutes, enough for five days for the average driver.

The Monks Cross and Poppleton facilities have secured funding worth £1 million from the European Regional Development Fund and £800,000 from Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), with City of York Council contributing £400,000

The project is a UK-first for ABB as it is supplying its EV Site Solution for energy management at Poppleton, which automatically monitors and optimizes energy use across all of the charging points to overcome the limited capacity of the site’s grid connection.

Each HyperHub will have four of ABB’s Terra High Power (HP) units for ultra-rapid charging at 175 kW. These can provide a full charge in 30 minutes for the large capacity batteries powering next-generation electric vehicles. The sites will also feature four Terra 54 chargers for rapid charging within 90 minutes at 50 kW. At Monks Cross, 30 parking bays will be equipped with Terra AC chargers for park and ride customers to charge their vehicles over several hours.

The project was designed and developed by renewable energy specialists EvoEnergy. It will also install multiple technologies on site, including solar canopies and battery energy storage to integrate local green power. EvoEnergy will also monitor and maintain the site.

Councillor Paula Widdowson, executive member for climate change at City of York Council, said: "We are delighted to be introducing the region’s largest EV charging hubs. This is exactly what our EV strategy has set out to achieve. Providing a future-proofed network with high quality facilities to support increased demand. With associated air quality and climate change benefits, this will meet the needs of the next generation of plug-in vehicles."

Oliver Johnson, ABB UK’s Business Development Manager for EV charging, said: "As the largest EV hub in the north of England, York’s HyperHubs will be a great example of how ABB’s eMobility solutions can be deployed at scale to provide choice and availability, as well as a smart energy management system for reliability."

Since entering the e-mobility market in 2010, ABB has sold more than 400,000 electric vehicle chargers across more than 85 market, including more than 20,000 fast chargers.

Explore ABB’s electric vehicle charging portfolio at www.abb.com/ev-charging