Northern Ireland shows year-on-year growth in number of EV charging points

The future direction for EV infrastructure is starting to take shape, with hubs supporting faster charging stations becoming increasingly popular.

According to new statistics from Zapmap, a total of 3141 new charge points were installed throughout the UK in Q1 2025, and brings the total number across the UK to 76,840 – representing a year-on-year increase of 29%.

Notably, while being the region with the lowest coverage of charge points, Northern Ireland has shown over 24% year-on-year growth across all power ratings and a 63% YTD increase in the number of ultra-rapid devices.

This increase includes the new Fastned ultra-rapid charging hub just off the A1 dual carriageway at Banbridge, which opened earlier this year.

The multi-million-pound investment marked the company’s first hub in the region and was an important milestone in the north’s movement towards EV.

Twelve charging bays offer drivers up to 100 miles of charge in five minutes, using 100% renewable energy. Fastned subsequently opened a second charging hub in Antrim in March this year, having identified Northern Ireland as a key growth area.

The Antrim station features three 400kW ultra-rapid charges and provides six charging spots, with the capability to expand to 12 in the future.

The company has now invested over £3m in its Northern Ireland stations and the company is eager to expand further.

Charging hubs like these (defined as six or more rapid or ultra-rapid devices at a single location) showed the highest growth, according to Zapmap, with 49 installed across the UK and bringing the UK total to 586.

With a power rating of 50kW to 149kW, rapid charge points have seen 286 additions in the past three months, now standing at 7736 and showing a year-on-year increase of 11.3%. During the same period, the number of ultra-rapid devices, with a power rating of 150kW+, increased by almost 66% to 7726, almost reaching parity with rapid devices.

Overall, ultra-rapid devices accounted for 22% of all installations for the first quarter of 2025 and are now becoming the default choice for en-route charging sites.

Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Zapmap, Melanie Shufflebotham said progress at a local level is “encouraging”.

“These latest statistics are highlighting what we can expect to see in the next stage of the infrastructure’s evolution, in terms of the emergence of innovative solutions, a focus on more powerful chargers and therefore decreased charging times,” she said.