Kent truck stop snapped up by bp pulse to boost Europe's HGV charging infrastructure

By Giles Gwinnett

15 March 2024

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The truck stop is close to Dover

bp pulse, one of the UK's largest charge point operators, has snapped up Ashford International Truckstop in Kent, which it plans to transform with mega-watt chargers for electric HGVs.

The site is one of the largest truck stops in Europe and the first such chargers are expected to be in place from 2026.

The stop lies off Junction 10 and 10a of the M20 and is close to Dover, the UK’s busiest ferry port, and LeShuttle Freight via the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone.

Around 3.5 million HGVs travel across the channel via Dover and Eurotunnel each year.

"For fleet operators to consider going electric, they must be confident that the infrastructure is in place to support them," said Stefan von Dobschuetz, general manager of bp pulse Europe.

"That is why we are thrilled to have secured the land to a crucial site near Dover as we strive to meet the evolving needs of HGV operators transitioning to EVs.

"The location of this truck stop aligns with our mission to provide accessible and strategically positioned charging infrastructure for our customers along the major truck corridors in Europe."

The site, which already offers 660 secure parking bays and convenience services for HGV drivers, could host around 20 mega-watt chargers (MCS), 10 x 400kW and 125 x 100 kW chargers, subject to power connection availability and the pace of electrification.

Once the chargers are installed, it will enable a link from the UK to bp pulse’s German charging corridors - a pivotal step in bp pulse's vision to establish a comprehensive Europe-wide network of EV charging infrastructure for HGVs.

bp pulse is bp's electric vehicle (EV) charging business. In 2022, it announced plans to invest up to £1 billion in the UK’s EV charging infrastructure and up to €100 million in Germany’s EV charging infrastructure by 2030.

It aims to grow its network of public EV charging points by 2030 to over 100,000 worldwide.

By Giles Gwinnett

Giles Gwinnett is a writer at The Business Magazine. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and covered a vast array of topics at a range of media settings - in print and online. After his NCTJ newspaper training, he became a reporter in Hampshire before moving to a news agency in Gloucestershire. In recent years, he has been covering the financial markets along with company news for an investor-focused web portal. His many interests include politics, energy and the environment. He lives in Dorset.