POLAR, the UK’s first privately-funded nationwide electric vehicle charging network, has been launched by Chargemaster plc.

The membership scheme allows EV drivers to charge at a network of over 4,000 charging points across the country – as well as at home, with a home charging unit costing just £95.

It also includes an iPhone/iPad app showing chargepoint locations and availability and a range of member benefits including discounts on parking, hotels and restaurants.

Membership of the POLAR charging network costs between £19.50 and £39.50 per month and a payment of 90 pence each time a charging unit is used. This provides juice for up to 100 miles of electric car driving, compared with around £16 for 100 miles in a comparable petrol or diesel car.

As EV users are more likely to charge their vehicles at home, the scheme provides its members with home charging benefits, including a subsidised charging unit (£95 instead of £995) which is fully installed and safety checked, as well as a special electricity tariff for EVs on domestic usage. It also includes access to POLAR’s network of over 4,000 charging points; an iPhone / iPad app showing chargepoint locations and availability; and, a range of member benefits including discounts on parking, hotels and restaurants.

Every location will enable cars to use the latest Type 2 connectors providing a 7 kW fast charge. All units are three phase 21 kW-ready, and will charge in about an hour. In the future, around 20% of all POLAR charging bays will be 'wireless', using inductive charging.

The launch highlighted Chargemaster’s extensive partnerships which form the POLAR network. These include Little Chef, which recently announced its roll out of quick EV chargers across the UK, as well as Waitrose, NCP and Britannia Parking.

Philip Hammond MP, Secretary of State for Transport, spoke at the event alongside some of Chargemaster’s high profile partners such as Arup, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and Nissan Electric Vehicles.

Philip Hammond MP, Secretary of State for Transport, said: “POLAR is exactly the kind of private-sector-led initiative that we need to drive the development of our national network of recharging infrastructure. It comes hot on the heels of our recent Plug-In Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy where we set out a range of steps to significantly improve the commercial case for infrastructure provision.”