Birmingham becomes home to the UK’s largest public EV charging hub, opened by Chancellor

In a significant development for the electric vehicle infrastructure in the United Kingdom, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt inaugurated a newly established electric vehicle charging hub on 07 September in Birmingham.

This state-of-the-art facility, known as the Gigahub™, is situated in Birmingham’s NEC Campus and represents the most substantial private investment in a UK electric vehicle initiative to date. The Gigahub™ project is the result of a collaborative effort involving the NEC, EV Network and bp pulse, with operational responsibility now resting with bp pulse.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, said: “This is the biggest private investment in electric charging in the UK and is a huge vote of confidence in Britain’s role as a leader in green industries. The ground-breaking site will be a major transport hub for the future and marks a significant step in our rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country.”

The Gigahub™ is an ambitious endeavour that has been underpinned by an unprecedented £8 million investment from Zood Infrastructure Limited, its investment partner. Notably, the site is equipped with 30 super-fast, 300 kW DC charging bays and an additional 150 7 kW AC charging bays, rendering it one of the largest concentrations of super-fast chargers within the UK at a single location.

Strategically situated within the nexus of the UK’s motorway network, encompassing the M42, M46, A45, and the newly established HS2 interchange station, this site is poised to evolve into a critical transportation hub of the future.

In conjunction with these developments, Chancellor Hunt has also announced the initiation of the Government’s £343 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Capital Fund, which is accessible to multiple local authorities across England. Among these eligible authorities is the West Midlands Combined Authority, which may commence its application process this year.

The LEVI fund, conceived to ensure equitable electric vehicle access across the nation, aims to support the installation of tens of thousands of local charge points, with particular emphasis on residents without off-street parking facilities. To facilitate the distribution of LEVI funding, local authorities will be divided into two groups. The first group can initiate the application process immediately, with funding distribution scheduled for this fiscal year, while the second group is slated to apply next fiscal year.

Reza Shaybani, CEO, and co-founder of the EV Network (EVN), said: “Gigahub™ is a massive game changer for EVN and a huge step forward for UK electric vehicle fast charging. EVN has already built dozens of sites across the UK, but the successful completion of this new project launches us onto a much more ambitious growth path, as the leading business in our sector with a range of exciting new partners.

“The NEC was a perfect location that is not only geographically key, but of national significance, to support the EV charging landscape. EVN secured 6.5MVA grid connection, to support the entire infrastructure. The strategic placement and impressive scale of this charging hub within the UK’s transport infrastructure offers reassuring support to drivers journeying between cities.

“Our long-term relationship with both the NEC Group and bp pulse ensures this is not just an investment for the site’s visitors but a transformative step towards bolstering the entire EV charging infrastructure of the UK.

“At EVN we are excited to invest £100M in EV Infrastructure projects this year, and we aim to invest a further £300M equity by 2025.”