Energy storage systems to support EV drivers on England’s motorways

National Highways hires Ameresco to upgrade seven service areas

National Highways is supporting electric vehicle drivers via investment in energy storage systems to support high-powered charging infrastructure.

The government-owned organisation has awarded an £8m energy storage systems contract to Ameresco, which will upgrade seven motorway service areas where the grid supply is not enough for high-powered charging infrastructure.

Supported by Costain, it is hoped the move will help bring an end to ‘charge anxiety’ by improving access to chargepoints across England’s motorways at sites with poor National Grid connectivity for EV drivers. The priority sites include:

• Beaconsfield on the M40

• Corley on the M6 Northbound

• Clacket Lane on the M25, both Eastbound and Westbound

• Maidstone on the M20

• Taunton on the M5 Northbound

• Tebay on the M6 Northbound.

The energy storage systems, which are essentially giant battery packs, support high-powered chargers with the aim that all motorway service areas will have at least six high-powered, open access chargepoints by the end of 2023.

Malcolm Wilkinson, head of energy for

National Highways, said: “We are working differently and innovating to support the switch to zero-emission journeys.

“Whilst we have limited control over the number of petrol and diesel cars on the network, by supporting the expansion of the high-powered chargepoints network, we hope to increase EV drivers’ confidence for all types of journeys, both long and short. These new energy storage systems and the high-powered chargers they supply will help ensure that motorists are unlikely to be caught without somewhere to charge, which is a fantastic move for drivers and the environment accelerating the speed in which we transition to new electric vehicles.”

Transport decarbonisation minister Jesse Norman said: “Expanding the UK’s rapid charging network is essential if

SWARCO Smart Charging taps into Connected Energy storage systems

more people are to switch to electric vehicles, and should make charging cheaper and more convenient.

“Drivers today are never more than 25 miles away from a rapid chargepoint anywhere on England’s motorways and major A roads. But this news marks another innovative step to making sure that rapid charging is accessible and reliable for drivers.” charging hardware with Connected Energy’s E-STOR system, which is made entirely from second life electric vehicle batteries to provide on-site energy storage. does not have the power required to meet demand, active charger management can be provided to avoid peak load spikes.

Ameresco will work with the motorway service area operators Extra, Roadchef, Welcome Break and Westmorland to support them making applications to the local authority for planning permission and to the distribution network operators to secure permission to connect the energy storage system to the grid.

Ameresco says it is on track to have all seven energy storage systems installed by the end of September 2023.

E-STOR can be linked to renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic panels allowing charging points to be powered by renewable energy, with excess power generated from the renewable sources stored until it is needed.

The 24, second-life EV batteries used within each E-STOR come from Renault Kangoos.

Matthew Lumsden, chief executive of Connected Energy, said: “Our energy storage solutions, using second life EV batteries, seamlessly works together with renewable technologies and EV charging technologies to give chargepoint owners ultimate flexibility over the energy required to deliver EV charging,”

SWARCO Smart Charging and Connected Energy have joined forces to roll out EV charging across the UK.

The collaboration aims to address two significant barriers to EV adoption: energy capacity and costly and time-consuming District Network

Operator improvements.

SWARCO is an EV infrastructure provider, while Connected Energy is a supplier of second life battery energy storage systems (BESS).

SWARCO Smart Charging will now be able to integrate its portfolio of EV

Bringing battery storage and EV charging solutions together can benefit large fleet depots or public charging hubs, where capacity is an issue. By drawing energy – either from the grid or from renewables – and storing it, energy is available to meet spikes in demand during busy charging periods, ensuring that drivers get the amount of power they expect when they plug in. For locations where a site simply

SWARCO Smart Charging’s managing director, Justin Meyer, added: “Since we helped pioneer the installation of charging points in the UK more than a decade ago, as the size and scale of projects increases, we have seen EV charging projects hampered by the lack of electricity capacity. It is a constant issue, and one that until now has been difficult to overcome, resulting in EV charging roll out being scaled back, relocated away from preferred sites, or delayed.”