Government reveals likely locations for 50 new fast EV chargers in €20m deal

5 Apr 2019

Image: © wellphoto/Stock.adobe.com

The Government has announced a €20m deal that will see the roll-out of more than 50 EV fast chargers across Ireland.

While electric vehicles (EVs) in Ireland are selling faster than ever before, the number of them on the country’s roads remains limited. However, to cater to an expected future demand, the Government has announced that it will invest €20m to fund the roll-out of fast charging points on the ESB network.

As part of this, a map showing more than 50 provisional locations for these fast chargers has been published.

The chargers will be installed along motorways and national roads, and will include the upgrading of standard 22kW AC chargers to faster 50kW DC chargers. Added to the existing network of more than 1,100 chargers will be multi-charger sites with a 150kW capacity.

The Government said that the upgraded network will be capable of sustaining hundreds of thousands of EVs. By comparison, the most recent estimate for the number of cars running on alternate energy sources is somewhere around 26,000, or 1pc of all cars in Ireland.

“We are funding high-powered charging hubs on motorways and national roads all across the country to tackle ‘range anxiety’ and encourage drivers to make the switch to EVs,” said the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton, TD. “We are stepping up our response to climate change across the board and this Government is determined to take the lead and put in place the necessary infrastructure to make it easier for people to play their part.”

A map showing more than 50 new fast EV charging locations in Ireland.

Provisional locations for more than 50 new fast EV chargers. Image: Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment/ESB Ecars

The Minister added: “This investment gives people confidence that they can make the switch. Now is the time. As well as providing a network of chargers, the Government also offer a number of financial supports to those thinking of changing their vehicle.”

The funding of the deal will be split evenly between the Government and ESB’s Ecars initiative. The final sites will be identified, taking into account current charge point usage, traffic volume, accessibility, amenities and grid capacity at the sites.

Alongside the public roll-out of EV charging points will be a private undertaking by EasyGo, which plans to install 88 chargers across the country by 2020, with at least 20 installed by the end of this year.

The company has deployed a Veefil-RT 50kW DC rapid charger from charging technology specialist Tritium. According to EasyGo, the charger can add 50km of range to an EV in just 10 minutes.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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