Electric Vehicle (EV) charging hubs
Keele is proud to provide a number of smart charging hubs for electric vehicles (EV) across campus, furthering the University’s sector-leading commitment to sustainability.
Usage
Our EV charging hub, located at the centre of campus near to the Day Nursery, is one of the largest in the region, featuring 20 points - 16 at 22kW and 4 at 7.4kW – all of which are currently free to use and can be activated using any RFID card including the Keele Card. NB: A decision about introducing a tariff for EV charging is pending during 2024/25.
With the additional hubs in operation, the University now boasts a total of 49 EV points on campus, supporting University staff, students and visitors who have made the switch to electric vehicles.
Electric vehicles charging locations
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- 8 dual 22kW chargers and 2 dual 7.4kW chargers at the Green Zone which is located in between Cobra Biologics and the Day Nursery (20 points total).
- 2 dual 7.4kW charger at David Weatherall (4 points total).
- 3 dual 7.4kW and 2 single 7.4kW chargers at the Vet School (8 in total).
- 5 dual 22kW chargers at the IC7 building (10 points total).
- 1 dual 7.4kW charger at the Sports Centre (2 points total).
- 1 dual 7.4kW charger at the Students Union (2 points total).
- 1 dual 7.4kW charger at Home Farm (2 points total).
- 1 single 7.4kW charger at IC3.
- 5 single 7.4kW chargers used by Keele University's fleet of electric vehicles.
EV charging and the SEND project
Through Keele’s Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND)* the future of the EV charging is run smartly, by monitoring usage, demand and how carbon intensive the grid is, then responding accordingly. The SEND is a European first, world-class facility that hosts a collaboration between Keele and engineering giant Siemens, to turn the University campus into an at-scale living laboratory for research, development and demonstration.
Research from the SEND helps to inform how electricity networks might need to be altered in the future and how users’ behaviours and expectations can be influenced. The SEND informs the delivery of ‘smart’ charging, where users inform an app about their length of stay and the system delivers charging at different rates in order to respond to the network’s demands at that given time.
The app is available to anyone with a Keele e-mail address. The app asks EV users for their current state of charge, the charge level they require, and the time they would like to remove their car from charge. SEND will then ensure that they achieve their desired charge when they leave but we reserve the right to vary the charge rate during their charging time in line with the status and carbon demand of our electrical network.
The development of new charging hubs helps to provide a real step-change in the charging provision at Keele and helps to encourage more staff and students to make the transition. The development represents an important contribution to the University’s response to the climate change agenda through the direct provision of clean, renewable energy, as part of its ambitious pledge to become carbon neutral by 2030.
Our EV charging ports are powered in part by our Low Carbon Energy Generation Park (LCEG) – a facility located at the back of the University's Science and Innovation Park. Featuring two wind turbines, 12,220 solar panels and a large rechargeable battery, the new facility generates up to 60% of the University’s monthly campus electricity requirements from renewable sources.
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*The Smart Energy Network Demonstrator project (ref. 32R16P00706) is part-funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the England 2014 to 2020 European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Growth Programme, and is available to ERDF eligible companies. The project is also receiving funds from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
