Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has installed 166 smart charging outlets for electric vehicles at its Gaydon engineering centre.
These outlets are for use by employees to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles — research has shown that 40% of electric car charging in Europe takes place at work.
Charging points will also be installed in the visitors’ car park, so guests can also take advantage of fast charging. This smart charging network is believed to be the largest single installation of its kind in the UK.
The 7kW AC smart charging stations — supplied by New Motion (a Shell company) — can add 22 miles of range to an all-electric Jaguar I-PACE every hour and 176 miles in total during an 8hr day.
They are cloud-connected and integrated with the New Motion public charging network, so employees can charge at stations around Europe using a single card. Users can also monitor their charging throughout the day with a smartphone app.
JLR (
www.jaguarlandrover.com) sources 100% renewable electricity — generated from natural resources including solar and wind energy — for its UK facilities, which will be used to power the infrastructure, providing carbon-free commuting to employees.
Its electricity supply is backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO), meaning that a proportion of EDF Energy’s renewable energy is ring-fenced for the company.
In this case, the REGO scheme certifies that JLR’s entire supply comes from renewable generation.
Mick Cameron, head of e-mobility at JLR, said: “We hope that by providing a network of electric charging points to staff and visitors at our Gaydon engineering centre, we can encourage the uptake of alternative fuels among our employees.
“It’s all part of our commitment to acting more sustainably; our UK facilities are already powered by 100% renewable electricity, and we believe that the new charging points will help our employees to ‘tread lightly’ on their daily commute.”