Ecotricity completes Electric Highway sale to Gridserve

Green energy firm Ecotricity has confirmed the sale of its Electric Highway national charging network to Gridserve.

Ecotricity says the sale will enable it to push new boundaries in its green energy business, with innovations like Britain’s first Green Gasmill; a process of making natural gas for the grid simply from grass.

It will also bring forward a series of solar and battery storage projects to be built without Government support, while expanding its Sky Mining facility, a carbon capture and storage process that turns atmospheric carbon dioxide into lab ground diamonds, known as Skydiamond.

Gridserve has acquired Electric Highway with the aim of replacing all the existing pumps on the network with new technology that features all the latest advances, including contactless payment.

Toddington Harper, CEO of Gridserve, said: “It’s a real honour for Gridserve to have been chosen by Ecotricity as the organisation to take the Electric Highway forward in its next phase.  Our purpose is to deliver sustainable energy and move the needle on climate change, and the upgraded network will provide the conference for millions more to make the successful transition to electric vehicles in the earliest possible timeframes.”

The Electric Highway was established in 2011 and played a pivotal role in kickstarting the country’s electric car revolution.  In a decade, charging has moved from 3-pin plugs and 7kW to the now state-of-the-art 350kW charger, which is capable of providing 100 miles of charge in around 5 minutes, while the typical range of a car battery has grown from 80 miles to more than 300.

Last month, the Electric Highway also opened the first high-power charging facility on the country’s motorway network at Moto’s new flagship Rugby services, which feature 12 of the new 350kW chargers.

Dale Vince OBE, founder of Ecotricity, said: “We’ve reached an interesting point in the electric car revolution – exponential growth is just round the corner, while the technology for charging has evolved into one ruling standard, offering charging speeds that are almost on par with fossil powered ones, where you top up once every week or two.

“At the same time, the Electric Highway needs a growth spurt to make sure it stays ahead of driver demand and continues to play its key role as the network that delivers more miles a year for UK drivers than any other.  For this, the Electric Highway needs an owner with access to serious funding and real commitment to the cause – and I’m delighted to have found the ideal company in Gridserve to hand the baton to.”