Work begins at SSE’s first Electric Vehicle Hub in Lough Sheever
Construction of a 10-bay Ultra-Rapid charging facility at Lough Sheever Corporate Park in Mullingar began this week and is expected to finish in July.
It is the first part of a plan by SSE Energy Solutions to build at least 30 ultra-rapid charging hubs in Ireland over the next four years.
The site will be publicly accessible and designed to accommodate long-wheelbase vehicles and buses, as well as cars and fleet vehicles.
SSE plans to spend €35m developing an EV charging network across Ireland, with all the hubs powered by green energy from SSE Airtricity.
As part of Phase One of the project in 2023, and subject to planning permission, additional hubs with 10 charging bays will be installed in Blanchardstown Business Park, Greenogue Industrial Estate and Ashbourne Retail Park. All the sites will be open to the public.
It is expected that a total of six locations will be operational by the end of 2023, with a further 10 coming online in 2024.
Each ultra-rapid bay will have charging capabilities of up to 150 kilowatts (kW), sufficient to deliver 12.5 kms of range per minute of charging.
Figures from Motorstats revealed that almost 16,000 EVs were sold in Ireland in 2022 compared to just over 8,500 the previous year - an increase of 81%. Over the same period, the sale of petrol cars decreased by almost 6% and diesel cars by almost 20%. However, a 2021 study by the UK’s Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology found that Ireland ranked joint-last in terms of implementing charging infrastructure.
Sean O’Callaghan, SSE’s Project Development Manager for Ireland, said assurance of service is the key comfort required by EV drivers right now.
"Being able to get in, get on, and get gone precisely when you expect to be. That level of service is what is required to accelerate our switch to electric vehicles and facilities like these are designed to achieve this,” saod Seam O'Callaghan.
SSE Energy Solutions has committed to installing 300 ultra-rapid charging hubs powered by traceable, renewable energy across the UK and Ireland over the next five years – 30 of which will be located here in Ireland. The very first hub, on Castlebank Street in Glasgow, went live at the end of last September.
In addition to announcing this nationwide infrastructure across Ireland, the company has also agreed a deal with pan-European portfolio company, M7 Real Estate, to install charging hubs at nine locations managed by the company in the United Kingdom.