Electric vehicle charging firm For:EV launches facilities at Starbucks branches including Blairgowrie and Galashiels

An Edinburgh-headquartered provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities has launched the roll-out of rapid charging stations at four branches of Starbucks in Scotland as it seeks to rev up its presence across the UK.

From left: Hamish Rankin, head of property at The Explorer Group, and Calum Wallace, business development manager at For:EV. Picture: Simon Jauncey.

For:EV says installation is complete at branches of the coffee giant in Livingston and Dunfermline, with work due to start at Galashiels and Blairgowrie later this month, amid the firm’s plans to create a network or more than 1,700 electric vehicle charging points at 600 public sites across the UK.

It added that the charging hubs at Livingston, Dunfermline, and Galashiels will benefit from ultra-rapid 150-kilowatt (kW) C Series chargers, which can charge a typical EV to 80 per cent from 20 per cent charge in 20 to 30 minutes, while those at Blairgowrie will do the same job in 30 to 40 minutes.

For:EV said it has established an ongoing partnership with the landowners of the sites, Mungo Park (Livingston, Galashiels, and Blairgowrie) and the Geddes Sipp (Dunfermline), creating the potential to add charging hubs at more Scottish retail and hospitality locations. The plans will focus on public “destination” charging points, with For:EV, which says its charge points supply 100 per cent fully accredited renewable green energy, keen to partner with single-site and multi-site landowners, as well as local authorities.

Calum Wallace, the firm’s business development manager, said: “The installation of these new ultra-rapid charge points at Starbucks sites across Scotland will be very welcome at a time when EV ownership is increasing dramatically. Infrastructure like this will make it easy for EV owners to quickly top up their charge in the time it takes to have a coffee. In order to break down a key barrier to EV charging away from home, our chargers operate on a user-friendly ‘tap-and-go’ approach, with no registration or membership requirements.”

Hamish Rankin, head of property at Mungo Park’s parent company The Explorer Group, cheered the tie-up with For:EV and praised its “efficient charging system”. The news of the partnership comes after the EV charging firm, which is backed by the Scottish National Investment Bank, recently installed its top team.