- Duracell plans to roll out its first charging stations in the UK
- The first sites will open this year.
- Expect to see more, with hundreds planned by 2030
You can spot a Duracell battery from a mile away, and now the company’s iconic black and bronze brand is coming to electric vehicle charging stations.
Designed to look like the brand’s giant batteries (you know, the kind a certain bunny defends), the electric vehicle charging infrastructure will be funded by The EV Network and installed by Elektra Charge in the UK. There is currently no news on a global release.
According to an article in The Times, six sites will be online before the end of the year, with a plan to open 100 more with at least 500 charging points by 2030. If successful, more could be rolled out across Europe and beyond.
Mark Bloxham, development director at EVN, says a “lack of familiarity with charging” may be a barrier for some of those who are on the fence about adopting electric propulsion, but Bloxham feels bringing a familiar name to the market can bring that “familiarity and confidence immediately to the consumer,” he told The Times.
As well as looking like the kind of giant single-cell cylindrical batteries that power toys, each charging socket will be capable of charging two cars at once, offering speeds of around 400kW, putting them among some of the fastest chargers currently available in Europe.
The network provider also says that charging sites will offer clear and transparent prices, as well as the possibility of paying in the app, contactless or with plug-and-go technology if compatible with the electric vehicle in question.
A simple but effective movement
Mark Bloxham, development director at The EV Network, is right when he says familiarity is key to encouraging EV adoption – the technology still seems very new and often confusing to those on the fence.
We’ve had over a hundred years to get used to the gas pump, but the idea of plugging into an often confusing and relatively complex electric vehicle outlet is enough to put off potential customers forever. Maybe if it looks like something they instantly recognize, it won’t feel so strange.
The Duracell brand is universally recognized and is synonymous with ensuring electrical devices go further and last longer – everyone in the UK will have seen the hyperactive bunny advert.
While the launch of a Duracell E-Charge network in the UK won’t actually offer anything particularly new or innovative, it will offer impressively fast charging speeds and the kind of brand familiarity that could convince naysayers that the network is strong enough to trust.
At the very least, it offers the perfect opportunity to capture social media content while your EV sips juice from a giant Duracell battery.
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