The EVMetrics Charger Guide

Being able to spot early-generation chargers from newer models can be highly useful when out on the road. I found myself frequently compiling a mental list, so I decided to formally document the most common public chargers found in the UK.

As a quick rule of thumb, you can identify many older fast chargers by their notorious red emergency stop button. Thankfully, newer chargers have abandoned this concept—modern manufacturing reliability has progressed past the stage of needing a giant physical kill switch. As an added benefit, we can finally leave behind the early-adopter legends of opportunistic strangers randomly stopping charging sessions on a whim.

A comparison chart of old and new chargers

Everyday AC Pillars

Starting with the foundational hardware, we have the older Polar / Chargemaster / Pulse 7kW poles. Installed heavily over the last decade across UK forecourts by the defunct CYC and Polar networks, these chargers unfortunately suffered from very low reliability. They famously rarely delivered a full 7kW—often offering barely half that. While the manufacturer, ChargePoint, has long moved on, these older units certainly won't be missed as they are slowly rotated out.

Alongside them is the ubiquitous Alfen EVE, deployed en masse by councils, Hubsta, and MER. Priced reasonably and generally reliable, their main vulnerability is the flimsy side flaps that frequently snap off. Like many AC chargers, although capable of 22kW, they are most commonly constrained to 7kW output by their grid connection.

A notable modern successor in the small-footprint category is the ChargePoint CPF50, offering speeds up to 50kW in an incredibly tight package, alongside the fiercely capable Kempower Satellite, whose sleek user terminals can dynamically deliver up to 400kW when hooked up to a separate centralized power cabinet.

Tesla & BP Pulse

Shifting focus to Tesla, their reliable 250kW V3 Superchargers are now joined in large numbers by the V4 Superchargers. The V4 ups the theoretical maximum speed to 350kW and features a crucial upgrade: a built-in contactless payment terminal and display screen to easily accommodate non-Tesla users.

Contrasting the V4's clean tech is the incredibly ancient Polar/BP Chargemaster Ultracharge unit. Supposedly state-of-the-art upon its 2017 deployment by Highways England and BP, these chargers natively maxed out at 50kW and could only charge one vehicle at a time. The software was notoriously flaky, and communication issues plagued the units. Recognizing the need for an aggressive modern pivot, BP Pulse has impressively secured a high volume of Tesla Supercharger V4 units to rebrand and rapidly deploy as the network's next generation.

ABB & The Rise of Alpitronic

Historically, European infrastructure relied heavily on the early heavyweights: the ABB Terra (124kW) and the ABB Terra HPC (175kW). Costing heavily and requiring massive external cabinets, these were once the absolute darlings of the Electric Highway and Gridserve. Recently, ABB introduced the massive all-in-one Terra 360kW, but its immense unit costs have made network deployment incredibly scarce.

After dominating the early fast-charger era, ABB has effectively been usurped by Alpitronic. The Alpitronic Hypercharger HYC300 and HYC400 modular chargers are now the undeniable gold standard across Europe. Coming from an aviation charging background, Alpitronic brought incredible servicing reliability and a robust modular setup. Networks across the UK are almost exclusively prioritizing Hyperchargers for their expansion goals.

Efacec & EVBox

Another legacy darling of UK Motorway services is the venerable Efacec QC45. Maxing out at 45kW and previously costing barely £20k, it hasn't been actively installed in half a decade. Many existing units are so riddled with rust that they pose a genuine risk of damaging your car if you attempt to use them. While Efacec announced an HV350 successor, it has essentially zero footprint in the UK today.

On the other hand, the EVBox Troniq won several design awards in 2019 and featured heavily in council car parks across the UK (blissfully free for the first year). Capable of 50kW DC and 22kW AC simultaneously, they were reliable but infamously noisy—sounding like a jet engine when the cooling fans kicked on. The radically completely redesigned EVBox Troniq High Power can easily output up to 400kW, but much like other manufacturer flagship models, it remains predominantly deployed in mainland Europe rather than the UK.

Tritium

Tritium occupies a uniquely rugged lane of the market. Based originally in Australia, they brought the incredibly durable, dust/waterproof Tritium RT50 to market. Found largely as the earliest fast chargers in UK Tesco and Morrisons forecourts, it was even licensed by Siemens as the nearly identical Versicharge Ultra 50. After shifting business largely to the US, Tritium launched the PK350 system, though the company unfortunately went into administration, severely impacting its future deployment.

Notable Mentions

Autocharge and Charging Standards

For everyday EV drivers, the public charging experience is finally shifting from juggling multiple apps and RFID cards to a seamless "plug it in and walk away" process. This is driven by competing software standards designed to automate billing and authentication directly between the car and the charger.

Autocharge

Autocharge is a highly popular, user-friendly technology that automatically initiates charging the moment a vehicle is plugged in. It relies on identifying the vehicle's unique MAC (Media Access Control) address. Drivers perform a simple one-time setup in a charging network's app to link their car to their payment details. From then on, any compatible charger will instantly recognize the car. While simple and cost-effective for operators, it relies on CCS connectors and is incompatible with certain vehicles (like many Volkswagen Group EVs) that share common MAC addresses instead of broadcasting a unique one.

Plug & Charge (ISO 15118)

Plug & Charge is a more advanced, highly secure global standard known technically as ISO 15118. Instead of relying on a simple MAC address, it uses sophisticated cryptographic digital certificates stored directly within the vehicle's hardware. Because it is standardized, drivers do not necessarily need to register with every specific charging network; the car securely handles the digital handshake and payment universally. However, because of its technical complexity, adoption by automakers and networks is progressing slower than Autocharge.

DIN SPEC 70121 and Proprietary Systems

Older fast chargers often run on DIN SPEC 70121, an early draft protocol that allows basic automatic charging communication but lacks the full security and smart-charging features of ISO 15118. Additionally, Tesla's Supercharger network pioneered the original "plug and charge" experience, but it relies on a proprietary, closed-loop software system that only functions seamlessly for Tesla vehicles on Tesla's own infrastructure.

The Epoch of Ultra-High-Power Electric Vehicle Charging

1. The Current Landscape: What We Have Now

For everyday electric vehicle (EV) drivers, public charging is rapidly approaching the convenience of a traditional gas station. The current "ultra-fast" standard primarily consists of 350kW to 400kW chargers provided by established hardware manufacturers like ABB, Kempower, Tesla, and SK Signet.

If your vehicle supports it, these chargers can add roughly 100 miles of range in just 10 to 15 minutes. To make the experience completely frictionless, networks are widely adopting Autocharge and Plug & Charge (ISO 15118). These technologies allow you to simply plug your car in and walk away—the charger automatically identifies your vehicle and handles the billing in the background, eliminating the frustrating need to swipe credit cards, scan QR codes, or juggle multiple smartphone apps.

2. The Future: The Megawatt Era

While 400kW is incredibly fast, the industry is currently transitioning into the "Megawatt" (1000kW+) era. These next-generation chargers will deliver power outputs between 600kW and 1.5 Megawatts, fundamentally eliminating range anxiety for long road trips.

With these systems, compatible cars will be able to charge from 10% to 80% in single-digit minutes. For example, charging speeds will be so fast that you can add up to 200 miles of range in the time it takes to buy a coffee (approximately 5 minutes). Because these speeds draw massive amounts of electricity, many of these futuristic chargers feature built-in battery storage. The charger slowly siphons power from the local grid throughout the day, stores it, and then rapidly dumps it into your car, ensuring local power grids don't crash when multiple cars plug in simultaneously.

3. Key Players and Timelines

The race to deploy these multi-megawatt chargers is currently led by Asian automakers, with Western manufacturers deploying rapidly to catch up:

Summary

The days of waiting 45 minutes for a fast charge are ending. By 2026 and 2027, the global expansion of 400kW+ and Megawatt chargers will make 5-to-10 minute charging stops the new normal, driven by seamless "Plug & Charge" software and the next generation of highly capable EV batteries.

(Almost*) All chargers by manufacturer

*See the evmetrics app for a constantly updated list

Want to learn more about the exact specifications, pricing, and hardware capabilities of these networks?

Read the Deep-Dive Technical Assessment of Ultra-High-Power Chargers →