BP Pulse, the electric vehicle arm of oil and gas conglomerate BP, made a new order for DC fast chargers from the manufacturer of power supplies for electric vehicles Tritium. The companies haven’t specified how many chargers are in the new order, but Tritium calls it “the largest ever order from a single customer.” The transaction means even more chargers will soon be available as EV adoption grows and government deadlines for phasing out combustion cars approach.
“We look forward to putting these chargers to work on three continents,” says BP Pulse CEO Richard Bartlett in a press release. BP Pulse currently operates around 60 charging points in the UK based on your online map and is working to expand in Australia, Europe and the United States.
BP and Tritium signed a multi-year contract in April last year with the aim of growing BP Pulse’s network of fleets and publicly accessible fast charging stations. Tritium recently partnered with DC-America in October to help build a nationwide fast charging network in the US. The American company also sells chargers to other customers like Osprey in the UK.
Tritium makes its DC chargers, which are capable of speeds of 50 and 150 kWh, primarily at its Lebanon, Tennessee, plant, which opened in August. It also has a plant in Brisbane, Australia, where it plans to build chargers for landing BP Pulse deployments. The company’s US plant is said to have the capacity to produce 30,000 units per year “at full maturity”, while the Australian plant has the capacity for 5,000. Tritium did not specify when its plants would reach production capacity.
BP’s deals with Hertz and Tritium highlight a growing interest from legacy fossil fuel companies to pivot more to support the growth of electric vehicles. Just this week, the big oil company Shell acquired the Volta electric vehicle charging network. Both transactions could set a tone for 2023 that electric cars are gaining steam, though some states could stand in the way of that.
