Chargemaster has won the 2018 Ashden Award for Clean Air in Towns and Cities.
This recognition comes, in part, for the company’s work promoting the use of electric vehicles through the Milton Keynes Electric Vehicle Experience Centre.
Chargemaster operates the largest electric vehicle charging network in the UK, providing a key part of the infrastructure needed for the transition to electric vehicles (EVs).
The Ashden Awards are given to sustainable energy pioneers and are a globally recognised measure of excellence. Chargemaster will receive its award next Thursday 14 June at a ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Former UN Climate Chief and key architect of the Paris Climate Agreement, Christiana Figueres, will be the keynote speaker at the Ceremony.
The Electric Vehicle Experience Centre (EVEC), based in the centre:MK shopping centre, opened on 22 July 2017 and is operated by Chargemaster. It is part of the wider Milton Keynes Go Ultra Low Cities Programme, for which £9 million in government funding was awarded to the city to encourage the uptake of low emission vehicles. Milton Keynes has a target of 23 per cent of all car sales being electric or plug-in hybrid by 2022.
The EVEC operates as a multi-brand electric vehicle showroom. It provides information, advice and test-drives and is run by a team of EV experts. These experts give impartial advice on specific models, government grants and charging options along with information on the benefits of driving an EV. The EVEC has been so successful that delegations have visited from the UK Government with a view to replicating it elsewhere.
Chargemaster’s public EV charging network, POLAR, provides over 6,500 public charging points across the UK, including over 300 rapid charge points. This means Chargemaster is playing a key role in bringing the UK to the point where public EV charge points will soon outnumber petrol stations in the UK. The company has also installed over 40,000 home-based charging points through partnerships with the majority of vehicle manufacturers.
The Ashden judges say “Chargemaster has an impressive, innovative business model that is kickstarting the EV revolution by rapidly rolling out high quality British-built charging infrastructure, promoting the use of EVs and removing barriers to widespread EV adoption.”
David Martell, Chief Executive of Chargemaster, says “We are thrilled to have won an Ashden Award. Everyone in our business is committed to supporting electric vehicles and enabling zero-emission motoring and winning an Ashden Award is a clear sign to us and our industry that we are leading the way and doing the right thing.”
Ten awards will be presented at the 14 June Ceremony to organisations working on the frontline of energy innovation, sustainable buildings, energy market disruption, and clean air in towns and cities, both in the UK and globally. All winners will receive a prize of up to £20,000 along with tailored support to help scale up their work.
