Places for London selects Fastned as preferred partner for new electric vehicle charging hub joint venture

Places for London - Transport for London's (TfL) property company - has selected Fastned, the award-winning European ultra-rapid charging company, as its preferred partner for its new joint venture (JV) to help develop several new electric vehicle (EV) ultra-rapid charging hubs across its estate.

The joint venture, which will help support the Mayor of London's commitment to achieve Net Zero carbon by 2030, aims to deliver new dedicated off-street urban charging hubs that will be able to simultaneously charge multiple vehicles at high speeds. The sites will also help support placemaking in the local areas by including retail and other facilities, such as toilets on the larger sites where possible. Now the preferred bidder has been selected, Places for London is requesting approval from TfL’s Land and Property Committee to form the joint venture at the earliest opportunity. This is expected to occur later this year, with the first site delivered in 2026.

The joint venture intends to be at the forefront of developments in accessibility and safety, with the new charging infrastructure looking to meet or exceed the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 and deliver best practices from the British Standards Institution’s guidance on accessible charging infrastructure. Customer safety will also be prioritised, with all sites designed to provide clear lines of sight, high illuminance lighting and CCTV, as well as on-site presence where additional facilities are provided. These measures will make the infrastructure more accessible and inclusive and will provide a more positive experience for all customers.

Fastned already operates one of London’s busiest ultra-rapid charging hubs in Greenwich, which offers electric drivers up to 300 miles of range in as little as 20 minutes. Voted best ultra-rapid charging network in the UK, the Netherlands, France and Belgium, Fastned already operates 25 charging hubs in the UK and more than 325 across Europe. Its network operates with high uptime due to its data-driven, in-house operations and maintenance teams. 24/7 customer support – available in multiple languages – helps customers experiencing any technical issues, while its recognisable solar canopies keep drivers safe and dry while charging. These canopies also make Fastned charging hubs easy to spot and safe to navigate to from the roadside, showing drivers what is available to them.

Across London, there are 180,000 plug-in electric cars and vans already registered in the capital.* With around 21,600 charge points to date, London leads the way with electric vehicle charging infrastructure, with around a third of all EV charging infrastructure across the UK, more than any other UK region.** Working with Fastned, Places for London will establish a long-term delivery plan which will help ensure influence and control in the electric vehicle charging proposition on the TfL estate, while also opening up opportunities for wider collaboration with Places for London’s other joint ventures and strategic delivery partners. This flexible approach will also ensure that the electric vehicle proposition being delivered by Places for London can adapt over time in line with best practice for accessibility and charging speeds, as well as technological developments.

In parallel with the procurement process, Places for London have been developing the pipeline of potential EV charging hub sites, to help ensure that the joint venture can start delivering charging hubs as quickly as possible. Early in the process, five initial locations, delivering around 50 bays in total across London, were highlighted to Fastned and other potential partners. Each site has the potential to deliver a minimum of six publicly accessible ultra-rapid charging bays, including at least one bay for those with accessibility needs, which will allow drivers to charge their vehicles in approximately half an hour. The first of the five previously announced sites is expected to start on site during 2025 and open to customers in 2026. Across the life of the joint venture, Places for London hopes to deliver at least 25 hubs across its estate, with the potential to increase this up to 65 hubs as market demand and opportunities arise.

By creating a long-term joint venture, this opportunity will enable Places for London to directly shape the design and delivery of the hubs while generating long-term revenue, which can then be reinvested back into the transport network - further encouraging a shift to more sustainable forms of transport.

Mark Farrow, Director of Strategy and Planning at Places for London, said: "We are excited to have now selected Fastned as our preferred partner for our new joint venture to bring forward a number of new electric vehicle charging hubs. These hubs will help encourage high-mileage businesses such as taxi, private hire and commercial drivers, across London, to confidently make the transition to electric vehicles.

"These new charging hubs, the first of which will open in 2026, will make it even easier for those who need to rapidly charge their electric vehicles, with several bays at each location, helping London to further work towards the Mayor of London's commitment to achieving Net Zero carbon by 2030."

Tom Hurst, UK Country Director for Fastned, said: “Londoners deserve a top-notch EV charging network for all those daily trips and longer journeys. That’s why we’re excited and proud to be bringing more ultra-rapid charging to key locations across the city – all helping to ramp up London’s transition to electric.”

Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy Mete Coban said: “We currently have more than 21,000 public electric vehicle charge points in London - over a third of the UK’s total charging network -  and the Mayor is committed to working with partners like Fastned to hugely expand that number in the next four years.

“London is leading the way in becoming the electric vehicle capital of the world, as we continue building a greener, fairer and more prosperous London for all.”

Amanda Zambon, Policy Director of the Association of International Courier & Express Services (AICES), said: “AICES welcomes the announcement that Places for London will be delivering a series of ultra-rapid changing hubs across London from 2026.

Express operators are making large investments in electric vehicles, and the availability of charging bays that can accommodate commercial vehicle requirements is essential to support their deployment and achieve our industry’s ambitious decarbonisation goals. We look forward to continuing to work with Places for London as the hubs are rolled out.”

More than 1,200 EV charging points found across the capital are rapid or ultra-rapid charging points. Of these, approximately 300 have been delivered by TfL.***

As part of the 2019 London Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy, TfL's modelling predicted that if current demand continues, London will need around 4,000 rapid charge points by 2030. To help achieve this number, TfL is looking at how to bring more of its own land into use for EV charging bays and is working with other members of the Greater London Authority (GLA) family and borough councils to bring further sites across London.

For more information about Places for London’s aspirations for electric vehicle charging hubs, please visit - https://www.placesforlondon.co.uk/projects