London Gatwick has become the first international airport to open an Electric Forecourt®, a dedicated electric vehicle (EV) charging station, with the new GRIDSERVE facility available for all to use from today.
Article continues below
The brand-new site, located on the Ring Road South approach to London Gatwick’s South Terminal, is one of the most advanced EV charging facilities in the world, hosting 30 charging bays, including 22 High Power chargers with up to 350kW of power – some of the fastest chargers publicly available today, capable of adding 100 miles of range in only five minutes.
The new chargers increase charging capacity at the airport five-fold and are accessible to all EV drivers including passengers, London Gatwick staff and the local community.
All charging bays are powered by 100% net zero energy, with the fastest chargers capable of adding up to 100 miles of range in 10 minutes.
Alongside high-speed Wi-Fi, a lounge area, Costa Coffee, Little Fresh convenience store and an interactive EV experience area, drivers can also speak to a GRIDSERVE EV Guru to gain advice on which EV may best suit their needs, and take the opportunity to test drive an EV.
The new GRIDSERVE facility follows the opening of London Gatwick’s new-look train station in November, doubling the concourse space, widening platforms and adding new lifts and escalators.
These projects, alongside the airport helping to fund new hydrogen buses on the local Metrobus network and investing in doubling the Gatwick-Reading train service, contribute towards London Gatwick’s ambition for 60% of journeys to and from the airport to be zero or ultra-low emissions, by 2030.
Following VINCI Airports flight plan to net zero emission and to contribute to decarbonize the whole air mobility value chain, London Gatwick has recently achieved Level 4+ ‘Transition’ of the Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme – the only institutionally-endorsed, global carbon management certification programme for airports.
Earlier this year, London Gatwick accelerated its commitment to be net zero for its own Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2030, 10 years ahead of its previous commitment. This ambition is in line with all other airports operated by VINCI Airports in the European Union. ■
A very active and complex mid-May weather pattern is set to produce numerous areas of severe weather, heavy rain, high winds, and anomalous temperatures through this weekend.