Oil and gas giant BP plans to launch a series of large EV fast-charging “Gigahubs” aimed at vehicles.
The first of these BP centers will be built near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in partnership with car rental company Hertz and will be funded in part by a $2 million grant from California Energy Commission (CEC), BP said in a press release. release.
BP says 48 charging ports will be installed at this first hub, with an estimated 6,400 fleets of EVs using the site daily by 2027.
This location is close to the existing Hertz facility. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this year calling on BP, through its BP Pulse business division, to monitor charger for Hertzplans to add tens of thousands of electric vehicles from Tesla, Polestar and General Motors to its fleet by 2024.
Hertz and BP Pulse partners for EVs and chargers
Jeff Nieman, the company’s senior vice president of operations initiatives, said more than 25,000 Uber drivers have rented cars from Hertz to date. The number of motorists using electric vehicles will increase significantly in the coming years.
California in 2021 approved a EV mandate for Uber and Lyft that will drive a growing portion of their fleets to all-electricity between 2023 and 2030. Ride need to go completely electricas 2019 data shows that 39% of mileage is covered by drivers who call cars on duty a “dead end” with no passengers.
Nissan Leaf electric vehicle using DC fast charging station at BP in Metrolina area of Charlotte, NC
At the same time, most charging infrastructure programs to date have omitted drivers who hail rides. Many toll collection networks are looking to facilitate road toll collection by extending intercity route distances, but to facilitate ride hailing urban fast charging stations may be needed. That could also help city dwellers use electric vehicles as their personal cars, as they currently don’t have many charging options.
BP plans to expand its current network to 100,000 chargers globally by 2030 as it seeks to diversify away from fossil fuels. The company, earlier this year, said that its fast chargers are almost profit like air pumpon an escrow basis.
