SSE Energy Solutions has launched electric vehicle charging hubs at five retail parks held by M7 Real Estate, with 15 more sites going through planning, the company said in an interview published in March 2024. The five live locations are in Great Yarmouth, Ipswich, Hayes, Colchester and Poole1.
Simon Pickett, SSE Energy Solutions' Head of EV Assets and Technology, set out the position on the M7 partnership, which covers a portfolio of retail parks held with M7's client Oxford Properties1:
"We have currently launched hubs at 5 of these retail parks, in Great Yarmouth, Ipswich, Hayes, Colchester and Poole to date, with a further 15 going through planning at the moment."
Across all its sites, SSE said it had 35 publicly accessible chargers at seven live hub sites at the time of the interview, with that number expected to reach double digits in the following couple of months and to rise significantly by the end of 20241. The company's first public charging site opened at Castlebank in Glasgow in September 20221.
On charging speeds, SSE said all its DC chargers were then rated at a minimum of 150kW, and that from the following month its highest power chargers would be 360kW units1. It described 400kW as the likely peak for the domestic market over the next few years1.
| SSE charging network, as reported March 2024 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Live hub sites | 7 |
| Publicly accessible chargers | 35 |
| M7 retail park hubs launched | 5 |
| M7 retail park hubs in planning | 15 |
| Target hubs by 2030 | 500 |
| Minimum DC charger power | 150kW |
| Highest power chargers from April 2024 | 360kW |
SSE said it expected to have between 300 and 500 sites open and serving customers over the next five or more years, against a stated ambition of 500 ultra-rapid hubs powered by renewable energy by 20301. It also said it had announced its first HGV site, going into construction at Tyseley Energy Park in the West Midlands1. SSE is a founding member of the ChargeUK trade body1.
Why it matters for households
For a household running an electric car, the practical question is whether charging away from home is available where people already park. SSE's stated rationale for retail parks is that drivers are there anyway, so a top-up fits into an existing trip rather than requiring a detour1. That matters most to homes without off-street parking, where a driveway chargepoint is not an option and public infrastructure carries the whole burden.
The power ratings are the other half of the picture. A minimum of 150kW across SSE's DC chargers, rising to 360kW units, shortens the time a car spends plugged in, which in turn affects how many vehicles a site can serve in a day1. SSE's own guidance on charger etiquette notes that charging slows sharply above 80 per cent, and asks drivers who no longer need a long journey to free up the bay1.
The scale of the build also bears on how much of a household's motoring can be met without petrol or diesel, and therefore on exposure to fuel prices. SSE's 500-hub ambition is a company target, not a national one, and the sources do not report how it compares with overall UK chargepoint demand. Households comparing suppliers on the basis of charging offers should note that the payment arrangement described here runs through a home energy bill via the Electroverse card, rather than a separate charging account1.
What happens next
SSE said it expected its first operational site in Ireland by April 20241. It said its highest power chargers would be 360kW units from the following month1. The 15 M7 retail park sites remain in planning, with no opening dates reported1.
Sources1 cited
- Charged: 15 questions with... SSE, electroverse.com