Charge up for shopping

ChargeNet is planning to build at least 80 charging sites for electric vehicles (EVs) at Foodstuffs supermarkets across the country over the next four years.

The two companies started working together in 2015 by opening sites at Pak’nSave and New World stores.

By the end of May, they offered customers access to 128 charging points around the country and had provided more than 7,731MWh of energy, enough power for an EV to circumnavigate Earth 850 times.

Sandy Botterill, Foodstuffs NZ’s head of environmental social governance, says: “Our customers like the convenience that comes from being able to charge their EVs while doing their shopping, ticking two items off the to-do list on a single trip.

“By partnering with ChargeNet to open at least 80 new charging sites at our stores around the country, we’re also supporting our broader goals around being sustainability leaders by helping reduce carbon emissions and supporting the transition to low-emissions transport options for customers.”

ChargeNet’s 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. All new sites will be powered by Ecotricity’s 100 per cent renewable, Toitu climate-positive certified electricity, generated from wind, hydro and solar.

Wypych adds: “By providing more 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.

“They’ll get up to 80 per cent charge in the half-hour or so it takes them to complete their shopping.”