Brewer St Austell and Scottish Power to double public EV charging points in South West

The two companies have agreed to roll out rapid chargers across the South West of England in a move that could boost the number of public charging points by 60%.

Estimates from Cornwall Council state that there are around 450 EV chargers in the region and the new partnership would add 300 points across St Austell estates.

St Austell, which brews beers such as Tribute, korev and Proper Job, has more than 160 pubs in its estate across the region. The organisation has committed to achieving net-zero across its operations by 2040 and has upgraded its company car fleet.

St Austell’s supply chain director Paul Hine said: “We have a proud history of innovation so working with ScottishPower to install electric car chargers was a great way to prepare our pubs for an electric future. For us, going greener makes good business sense.

“We know that investing in this green tech will help us reduce our carbon footprint and thanks to ScottishPower we have been able to do this at scale. We’re proud to be providing charging points for our local communities and creating an ‘electric tourist trail’ for anybody visiting our sites and this beautiful part of the country. What better excuse to visit the pub for a well-deserved break and a spot of lunch?”

A record 6,000 publicly available EV charging points have been installed in the UK since the start of the year, with the nation now on track to host 100,000 by summer 2025.

The UK Government has ambitions for the nation to host 300,000 public chargers by the end of 2023 and has focused its spending so far on facilities across the motorway network, with a smaller funding pot for on-street chargers in residential areas. Building on initial funding, the DfT recently announced initiatives to expedite EV chargepoint installations, including grants for state-funded schools and nurseries, funding for local authorities, and proposals to increase chargepoint numbers.

Additionally, businesses are increasingly rolling out EV charging points across their estates.

Britain’s supermarkets collectively added almost 1,200 EV charging points to stores in 2023, meaning that more than one in ten locations now has these facilities.

ScottishPower’s head of smart mobility Andrew Mouat said: “Since the beginning of our partnership, the team at St Austell Brewery always had clear goals of wanting to bring something special to their business and the local community in the South West.

“At ScottishPower, we want to help businesses integrate green tech into their operations to allow their customers to live a more sustainable lifestyle while creating a new revenue stream. We help business leaders find the best chargers for their carparks, manage and cover the cost of installation, and service the units for the term of the contract.”