Major provider working with big chain to add 80 extra chargers.

INTENTION to deliver many more charging stations to a major supermarket chain’s sites has been announced by a big national provider.

ChargeNet and Foodstuffs - which has New World, Pak’nSave and Four Square franchises - have announced plans to build at least 80 new EV-charging sites at supermarkets across the country over the next four years.

ChargeNet began working with Foodstuffs back in 2015, installing charging sites at the co-operative's Pak’nSave and New World stores, which currently offer customers access to 128 ChargeNet charging points around the country.

To date, it says, the charging points have provided more than 7731 megaWatt hours of energy to customers - enough power for an EV to circumnavigate the earth 850 times.

Foodstuffs NZ’s Head of Environmental Social Governance, Sandy Botterill, says the new development to their partnership reinforces its commitment to providing customers with accessible and convenient charging options.

“Our customers are telling us they like the convenience that comes from being able to charge their electric vehicles while doing their shopping, ticking two items off the to-do list in a single trip.”

ChargeNet CEO Danusia Wypych says the formal partnership with Foodstuffs NZ will speed up the installation of new chargers, building the number of high-powered charge points available nationally, fed by climate-positive certified electricity generated from wind, hydro, and solar.

“Building more chargers builds confidence in the network for everyday EV drivers, and being able to charge while they’re doing an everyday errand helps to seamlessly integrate EV-charging into their daily lives.

“By providing more ChargeNet chargers and even more convenient access, we’re helping to get more Kiwi drivers into EVs by building their trust that the EV-charging network can support them.”

ChargeNet has not commented about the cost of this programme, the capacity of the chargers or what locations are under scrutiny.