The “30kWh” is how big the battery is. A bigger battery usually means you can drive farther before needing to charge, but real range depends on things like speed and weather.
Term
Chathamow connector
This is the plug type your EV uses to charge. If a charger has the wrong plug (or you don’t have the right adapter), you may not be able to use it easily.
80kW is how fast the charger is supposed to be. In real life, your car may charge slower than the sign says because of battery conditions and the car’s limits.
They’re talking about keeping some extra battery so you don’t get stuck. If charging is slower than expected, having a buffer makes the trip less stressful.
The Dodge Charger is a car built for performance, with a focus on fast driving. If the podcast is talking about an “ABT charger,” it’s referring to the charging equipment used to power the car. The “temperamental” wording suggests the charging setup may not always work smoothly.
The Nissan Leaf is a common electric car. If lots of Leafs are charging at the same time, the chargers can be busy and you might wait or find them unavailable.
Chargemaster is a company that helped run EV charging. The host says it later got bought by BP Pulse, which can affect how you pay and which app you use.
EVED is referenced as a government policy described as “three-pence-a-mile” for EVs. The host uses it to compare future per-mile costs against earlier charging costs, highlighting how taxes/levies can change the economics of EV driving.
The strategic road network is the UK’s main set of big roads—motorways and major A-roads. The host uses it to talk about where EV charging is most important and how it’s organized.
Charging infrastructure just means the network of EV charging stations. Where they’re placed (especially on big roads) can make EV road trips easier or harder.
Zatmap is the episode sponsor and is described as an app for EV drivers to find and pay for public charging. Apps like this typically aggregate charger locations, show availability/pricing, and streamline payment so drivers can charge with fewer surprises.
The M1 Corridor is just a specific stretch of the UK’s main M1 motorway. The episode uses it like a “test route” to show how EV charging has improved (or not) where people actually drive every day.
Motorway service areas are the official rest stops along the UK’s motorways. They’re important for EVs because that’s where you can reliably find chargers during long trips.
It’s not enough for chargers to be “somewhere”—they also have to be working when you arrive. The host is describing a time when chargers on the M1 were sparse and sometimes even shut down, which makes planning a trip much harder.
“Medium power” means the charger is fast, but not the fastest available. In this episode they’re talking about chargers around 50 to 100 kilowatts, which means you’ll generally spend more time charging than at the newest ultra-fast stations.
Gridserve is a company that runs EV charging sites. The host is using it to describe what kind of chargers were common on the M1 back then, and how that has changed.
Kilowatts (kW) are a way to describe how fast a charger can deliver power. Higher kW usually means you can add charge faster, though your specific car still matters.
Markham Vale is a real place the host points to where you could find chargers off the main motorway stops. They’re basically saying that, back then, only a few locations like this made the route workable.
IONC is an EV charging operator/brand referenced here as still having a handful of units remaining at the Milton Keynes Coatway area. This matters because the host is contrasting past coverage with what’s left now—showing how networks can thin out over time.
Instavolt is a company that provides EV chargers. Here it’s mentioned as one of the few charger options you might find near places like fast-food restaurants off the motorway exits.
Osprey is a company that runs EV charging. The host is saying that, off the motorway, chargers were rare and often depended on specific places like pubs or restaurants.
Ultra rapid chargers are the fast EV chargers you want for road trips. They can refill your battery much quicker than standard chargers, and the host is saying there are many more of them now along the M1.
A CPO is the company that runs the charging equipment at a station. The host is saying some motorway stops have chargers from one operator, while other stops have chargers from more than one operator.
Concept
tip shelf or trowel northbound services
This is a specific service stop on the motorway. The host is probably pointing out whether it has fast chargers or only slower ones.
Ionity is a company that installs and runs fast EV chargers. Here, it’s mentioned because that particular motorway stop has Ionity’s very high-power chargers.
An MSA is a motorway rest stop where you can park, eat, and (in this case) charge an EV. They’re using MSAs to talk about where fast chargers are located and which companies provide them.
Welcome Break runs the motorway rest stops. They’re talking about how some Welcome Break locations had certain fast chargers turned off, and how other fast-charging brands were added later.
Moto Charge is a charging service brand used at motorway stops. The episode is comparing how Moto is adding its own chargers alongside other companies’ chargers at the same service area.
400 kW refers to very high-power DC fast charging, which can significantly reduce charging time compared with lower-power stations. The segment uses it to compare charger performance at the same location (Moto Charge vs Gridserve).
kWh is how much electrical energy you’re buying when you charge. The episode compares the price per unit of energy and asks whether paying more for faster charging is actually worth it for most drivers.
Applegreen runs motorway service stations, and they’ve been adding EV chargers at several stops. The hosts are listing how many chargers they put at each location.
Plug and charge means you plug the car in and it starts charging automatically, without you tapping an app or card first. The episode says these chargers require extra interaction, which makes them less convenient.
ABB is a company that makes some of the charging equipment. The hosts are saying that the ABB chargers at these locations aren’t as user-friendly because they don’t do plug-and-charge and the screens/apps are awkward.
The BMW M6 is a sporty, high-performance car made by BMW. The podcast mentions motorway services and charging stops, which is relevant if you’re planning a trip and need places to charge along the route. It’s basically about where you can stop and plug in during travel.
Utilization figures are a way to measure how busy the chargers are. Instead of just counting chargers, it looks at how many times each charger gets used.
Sessions used means each time someone plugs in and charges. The podcast uses session counts to compare how often different charging companies’ stations are being used.
They’re talking about a basic idea from economics: in a perfect world, people would always pick the cheapest option. The podcast suggests real charging choices don’t follow that perfectly.
First mover advantage means the company that gets there early can build trust and recognition before others arrive. The episode says GridServe benefited from being early, but competitors are now catching up.
This is basically about EV charging becoming a “choice” at motorway stops. Instead of one company dominating, multiple charging networks show up and drivers can pick the one that’s cheaper or more convenient.
Concept
charging access rules (Tesla-only vs open to the public)
The host contrasts Tesla’s usual approach—keeping many motorway chargers restricted to Tesla vehicles—with exceptions where Tesla Superchargers are open to non-Tesla EVs. This affects real-world usability and can change which network is “best” for a given driver.
They’re talking about how many charging/rest stops exist along the M1 motorway. Because there are only a limited number, they can get crowded as more EVs use them.
Utilization is basically how busy a charging station is. If it’s used a lot every day, it’s more likely that the chargers will already be taken when you get there.
Charging demand changes depending on the time of day. More people stop to charge at certain times (like around meals), and fewer people charge late at night, so some periods will be much busier than others.
The big takeaway is that if charging stations get busier, you’re more likely to arrive and find the chargers already taken. That can mean waiting or having to choose a different stop.
A charging hub is a place where several fast chargers are grouped together. That makes it less risky to stop there because you’re more likely to find an available charger.
Pogo is a company that provides public EV charging. The hosts are pointing out where Pogo has clustered fast chargers, and they even note when a location isn’t ideal.
Sainsbury Smart Charge is a charging setup associated with Sainsbury’s. The idea is that some charging stations are placed near stores, so you can charge while you’re already stopping for something.
Rapid charging means the charger is faster, so you add more charge in less time. That matters on road trips because you don’t want to spend too long stopped.
A “detour” here refers to leaving the main motorway corridor to reach a charging location, then rejoining the route. For EV planning, detours directly affect total trip time and whether the stop is worth it.
“Iced” means the charger is taken up by a regular car, so an EV can’t plug in. It’s frustrating because you can arrive ready to charge and still be stuck.
This describes a charging site with several chargers that are more likely to be working when you arrive. More chargers at one place usually means you’re less likely to be stuck waiting.
Trowel, Tipselth, Woodall, Rotherham Woolly Edge and Leeds Skelton Lake. I think that's about
right and Rotherham has only been open a few months at the time of recording. So if every
electric vehicle on the M1 that needs a charge pulls into an MSA on the M1 two things are going
to happen. Firstly the units are going to get hammered a lot more than other units that have
lower utilization and secondly the chances of a unit being in use increases. The data I have from
Zatmap indicate that each GridServe unit along the M1 corridor is being used an average of eight
sessions per day. Each apple green an average of four sessions per day. Now remember this is from a
national car park that has around 5% electric vehicles so we're about 1.8 million vehicles
from a total of 34 million which means that of our hypothetical 200,000 vehicles passing down the M1
every day there will potentially be 10,000 electric vehicles that might want to charge
somewhere on their journey. At the moment the network appears to be handling the load
with the data indicating that apple green for example has the ability to effectively double
the number of sessions that it can provide or supply in any given day without any issue but
let's do a little bit of crystal ball gazing and imagine ourselves 10 years down the line.
The number of EVs on the road could potentially be double what it is now and this means
that the number of vehicles wanted to use the chargers will double all things being equal
but this increase won't be evenly distributed across the day they're going to be charging
speeds where more vehicles stop so around mealtimes are typical examples and there are going to be
troughs where there is very little call for charging so in the middle of the night for example
not many people turn up at four o'clock in the morning but wanted to charge there are people
but not as many as two o'clock in the afternoon now what this means is that there's a very high
probability that the charges at your favorite msa's are going to be in use when you arrive there
and if you've got time to wait that's fine but if not could be a problem so i'm generally not
using motorway service areas as a provider of charging on a long journey so who do i use well
that then gets me on to the next part of the discussion which is the strategic road network
outside the motorways now obviously there's a lot more a roads in england than there are
motorways and the charging provision on these roads is increasing rapidly the latest figures
from that map indicate that 14,097 new charge devices were added to the infrastructure last
year representing over 19 percent year-on-year growth and this is on top of a couple of years
of 40 plus growth ultra rapid chargers have increased by 41 percent year-on-year and the
number of hubs six or more rapid or ultra rapid devices has increased by just over 39 percent
last year to 748 consider that when i got into an ev less than seven years ago there wasn't a
single hub in the country and the very first one was the aforementioned milk kids parkway that had
eight 50 kilowatt chargers in one place and i don't just before lockdown as i recall so the rate of
change is phenomenal and a lot of that increase has been focused on places along the strategic
road network and a lot of these srn locations are very close to the motorway network for example
if i'm heading north at the m1 and i want to stop somewhere within a mile or so of the motorway
junction where there is a charging hub there are several options i can stop at tesla supercharger
locations open to the public at lutein airport arlington junction 12 starbucks parkland junction
18 the mara hotel junction 27 the east midlands designer outlet junction 28 the haig supercharger
near barnsley and called the park service station near wakefield and if i look at non tesla super
chargers that have six or more devices there's pogo who have sites at the holiday in wakefield
nice chargers not a great location to be honest the holiday in darby and the holiday in creek near
or there's the ionity hub at milkington parkway junction 14 lester junction 21 south normandton
junction 28 a meadow hall junction 34 osprey have a couple of hubs just off the motorways there's
the three compasses at watford lutworth hub just off function junction 20 and the common hub at
junction 35 sainsbury smart charge has one at fossilway near lester which is junction 21
another and another down outside watford again within the n25 if eve have a hub at grove farm
in endebe off junction 21 which is the only one they have anywhere near the m1 and that's actually
quite interesting because there's a side note what's interesting is that the big cpo's have
almost no presence alongside the m1 in the form of large hubs fasten ed for example nothing from
st albans where their hubs not close to the m1 junction to leads instavall have nothing big
at all along the m1 although they have numerous two unit sites just off various junctions mfg
they've got a couple off the m1 but not that close and each is a reasonable diversion of your route
raw charging coming on this podcast this season they have two hubs on the root but neither of them
is a quick diversion from m1 shall recharge there's one just off a road just off a road
just off the m25 near the m1 junction it's about a five minute diversion and 2.6 kilometers or 1.5
miles but other than that there's nothing along the full end of the m1 with six or more devices at
which you can charge bp pulse is nothing within easy reach of the m1 the closest they have is at
totten park and ride junction 25 it's an easy diversion from the m1 i've used it in the past
but it will add another 10 15 minutes to your journey to do that detour last time i went there
it had no facilities at all no doubt i will have missed one or two locations and there are of
course dozens of single or double unit sites within a few minutes of the various junctions
but for a long distance drive i'm heading for a hub rather than a small site where a charger
might be occupied or even worse iced what does this mean for me as an evie driver i hear you
cry what does this mean for me as an evie driver well glad you asked prehensive review of the
state of charging across all four and a half thousand miles of the srn is not possible in a single
podcast nor would it be something i think i'd want to do but by using the m1 as a proxy for this we
can see a couple of things that jump out now firstly the charging provision is increasing
rapidly we know this because zapmatt published the figures for charger growth on a regular basis
there are a lot of chargers going into the ground but we do also know from looking at the m1 that
there's still a large amount of potential for additional chargers there are still gaps in the
motorway service areas as we said earlier there are several sites with no ultra rapid charging
of any provision and once you get off the motorway there are still plenty of junctions where a nice hub
would make sense for those not wanting to charge at an msa but for now i'm quite content to know
that when i go and see my parents i have a bigger choice now than i did eight years ago of large
multi-unit dependable charging hubs at which i can choose to charge let's hope some of the other
large cpo start to look at the gaps and see if there are places in which they can add hubs
and i'm looking at you fast nerd the ev musings podcast is sponsored by zapmap to go to app for
ev drivers helping you find and pay for public charging with confidence see what charge points
are available right now with live availability and unrivaled uk charge point coverage at your
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join over a million ev drivers download zapmap and charge with confidence so i hope you enjoyed
listening to today's show it was put together with the help of jade edwards and the data insights
team at zapmap thank you very much for your help if you have any thoughts comments criticisms or
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About this episode
Gary recounts his first EV road trip from Hampshire to Yorkshire, when motorway charging was sparse and often unreliable—then pivots to how the strategic road network (SRN) is rapidly improving. Using the M1 corridor as a proxy, he breaks down charger growth at motorway service areas, the rise of ultra-rapid hubs from operators like Gridserve, Apple Green, Tesla, Ionity, and others, and compares utilization and pricing. He argues MSAs are still busiest and may become strained as EV adoption grows, while off-motorway hubs are increasingly the smarter long-trip option.
This episode explores the current state and future of electric vehicle charging infrastructure along the UK strategic road network, focusing on the M1 corridor in particular.
Gary discusses charging patterns, infrastructure growth, and strategic considerations for EV drivers.
Key topics
- Growth of EV charging infrastructure on the M1 and strategic road network
- Charging patterns and peak times for EVs along the M1
- Current gaps and future opportunities for charging hubs outside motorway service areas
The EV Musings Podcast is sponsored by Zapmap, the go-to app for EV drivers, helping you find and pay for public charging with confidence. Zapmap is free to download and use, with subscription plans for enhanced features such as using Zapmap in-car on CarPlay or Android Auto, and discounted charging across thousands of charge points.
Download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store or find out more at www.zapmap.com.
