BP Plc said its British electric vehicle charging business bp pulse will install high-speed charge points at around 70 Marks & Spencer retail outlets.
The oil major is stepping up the pace of liquidating fossil-fuel assets to raise funds to invest in renewable-energy projects amid a global push for decarbonisation by energy firms.
Sacha Berendji, director of operations at Marks & Spencer said, “At M&S we’re reshaping the business for sustainable future growth in every sense. From our award-winning Shwopping initiative to our Fill Your Own refill concept, EV charging is the latest feature to ensure we have a store estate fit for the future, to help our customers live lower carbon lives.
“We know that services like EV charging are in demand from our customers, so we’re delighted to be offering this service and give more reasons for customers to shop with us.”
Pilot Charging Sites
The first pilot charging sites are open at M&S Maidstone Eclipse and Southgate stores, with an initial target to install around 900 points, adding up to 40,000 kilowatt-hours of charging capacity within the next two years.
Meanwhile, BP plans to invest up to £1 billion ($1.22 billion) in UK EV charging infrastructure by 2030.
BP and M&S first teamed up in 2005 to introduce M&S Food stores at bp retail sites. More than 250 bp pulse charge points are already available at over 60 bp-operated forecourts, which also offer M&S Food.
Commenting on the partnership, Akira Kirton, CEO at bp pulse UK said, “This is exactly the kind of collaboration the UK needs to help accelerate the transition to lower carbon transport and we’re delighted to be working with M&S to make that happen.”
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM – your source for the latest retail news. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
