Northern Ireland’s first dedicated ultra-rapid EV charging hub opens at Kinnegar Service Station
In an exciting development at the newly-expanded and developed Kinnegar Service Station in County Down, Maxol has opened its first dedicated ultra-rapid EV charging hub.
With four high-speed chargers able to charge up to six vehicles at one time, the new hub at the Holywood service station provides the highest charge currently available to the public in Northern Ireland.
The facility at Kinnegar will build upon the charging points Maxol already have in place at Townparks in Antrim and Mallusk in Belfast, while later this month they will unveil another charge point at the newly-refurbished site at Edenderry.
‘We are a hub in every sense – meeting the needs of our local community, right here on their doorstep’
Brian Donaldson, Chief Executive of The Maxol Group
The hub features four high-powered rapid and ultra-rapid chargers, including a 200kw charge point that can charge a single vehicle in as little as 15 minutes.
There a further two 150kw charge points that service four vehicles at any one time and a single 50kw rapid charge point. Up to six vehicles can be charged at one time and the chargers are powered using renewable electricity.
Maxol is NI’s leading family-owned forecourt and convenience retailer and Chief Executive of The Maxol Group, Brian Donaldson described the development as a “landmark moment”.
“Maxol continues to invest in and develop the right infrastructure across our service station network to support the move to electric. At all these developments we worked closely with the team in NI Electric Networks to provide the necessary grid capacity to power the chargers and additional requirements for each location.
“More importantly for our customers, Kinnegar has been developed to offer the ultimate in convenience. While customers charge their car, they can visit the brand new EUROSPAR with extensive range, grab a BARISTA BAR coffee or a bite to eat at the new Delish Hot Food Bar or stock up on cupboard essentials for all their daily needs. We are a hub in every sense – meeting the needs of our local community, right here on their doorstep.”
The sustainably designed new flagship development, which is part of a broader five-year investment programme, has used cutting-edge technology to create a measurably different service station that will enable Maxol to reduce the site’s existing carbon footprint by up to 40%. Features include photovoltaic (solar) panels to reduce the site’s electrical import requirements; low energy CO2 refrigeration systems; heat pump technology to reduce heating loads; and an energy management system to monitor and control the overall energy usage on the site.
On the forecourt, Kinnegar will continue to service its large customer base with advanced fuels including Maxol Premium, a 100% carbon offset fuel option with fewer pollutants. Parking has more than doubled in capacity to 41 spaces, to ease the flow of traffic on site even during peak trading periods.
In addition, Kinnegar’s retail space has almost doubled in size with the opening of a brand new EUROSPAR that offers a huge range of locally-produced food including an expanded grocery offer, a large, dedicated butchery section as well as a choice offering of fruit and vegetables, dairy, and frozen food ranges.
A brand-new Delish food to go concept with a self-serve chicken bar has been included in the development and for the first time ever, Maxol have installed three self-checkouts for added speed and convenience for their customers.
A total of 20 new jobs have been created for the local community as a result of the expansion and development.
