The National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham is the UK’s largest event space and has been home to InstallerSHOW since 2022. The move to the NEC has played a pivotal role in elevating InstallerSHOW’s prominence, providing a world-class venue to showcase the latest advancements in the heating, plumbing, and electrical industries. We are excited to share the NEC’s new project, which aligns perfectly with our own offering.
bp pulse, The EV Network (EVN) and NEC Group, are proud to announce the launch of the UK’s largest public electric vehicle (EV) charging hub on the NEC Campus in the West Midlands. This Gigahub™ was officially opened by The Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP.
The Gigahub™ will help serve the seven million visitors attracted to the NEC Campus annually, along with a wide range of other road users that make up the area’s average yearly traffic count of 60 million. Accessed via the main NEC Campus through road, less than 1 mile from junction 6 on the M42 and just 2.4 miles from junction 7A for the M6.
Capable of charging 180 EV’s simultaneously, the Gigahub™ boasts cutting-edge ultra-fast 16x 300KW DC chargers, of which two are designated accessible bays. These ultra-fast chargers are capable of charging 30 EVs simultaneously. The site also has a further 150 points for 7KW charging, including additional designated accessible bays.
All visitors to the Gigahub™ will have access to a new Starbucks Coffee Drive Thru – itself certified as a Greener Store that has been independently verified to meet a rigorous set of environmental standards – combining fast charging with convenience to deliver the services EV drivers want while they wait.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, said: “This is the biggest private investment in electric charging in the UK and is a huge vote of confidence in Britain’s role as a leader in green industries.
“The ground-breaking site will be a major transport hub for the future and marks a significant step in our rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country”.
Paul Thandi CBE, DL Chairman of NEC Group, said: “We are proud to contribute to the UK Government’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy. Working in collaboration with EVN and bp pulse, the opening of our EV charging hub provides NEC Campus customers, commuters, and those working for local regional or national businesses, a reliable and convenient way to recharge and support a lower carbon travel future.
“This strategic collaboration and initiative strengthen our destination offer, demonstrate our commitment to reducing the impact our business practices and our Masterplan credentials have on the environment, and ultimately supports a reduction in carbon emissions.”
The introduction of the Gigahub™ aligns perfectly with the areas that our InstallerSHOW attendees and exhibitors are increasingly interested in, demonstrating a shared commitment to reducing environmental impact and carbon emissions. InstallerSHOW features a section dedicated to electrification, reflecting the industry’s growing interest and importance in the sustainable energy landscape.
EV and electric companies that exhibited at InstallerSHOW 2023 included Allports Group, EV Tower, Tesla, CEF, PowerHubb, Easby Energy Solutions, Ford, Ratio EV charging, EVEC, Rolec EV, myenergi, easee, V.go and Craig & Derricott.
