Skip advert
Advertisement
Your questions answered

Complete guide to the Fastned electric-car charging network in the UK

Dutch company Fastned has a handful of charging hubs in England, and an extensive network on the continent

Volvo C40 at Fastned charger

Fastned is an electric car rapid-charging network with – at the time of writing – 13 sites dotted around the UK. However, unlike many rival operators, the majority of Fastned's locations aren't in and around London and the southeast of the country. Instead, most of the Dutch firm’s sites can be found in the northeast around Newcastle and Sunderland.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Its most recent site was opened in January 2023; a eight-bay hub in Washington, Tyne and Wear. Located offer the A183 on Parsons Road, Fastned says the station will cater for commuters to and from South Tyneside, as well as Sunderland.

Not just located in England, the company recently opened Scotland's largest rapid-charging hub, and the first in South Lanarkshire, located at the Palace Grounds Retail Park in Hamilton, just off the A72 and near the M74. This station also comprises eight chargers, each of which is supplied by 100% renewable energy.

It has another Scottish location in Angus Court, Dundee, and opened a hub in Barnard Castle, Durham in early 2022. Further south, Fastned also has a rapid-charging hub in Hawkinge, near Folkestone in Kent, aimed at EV drivers undertaking long-distance journeys to or from continental Europe using the Channel crossing options.

Fastned Greenwich

June 2022 saw Fastned expand to London for the first time, with a new station just off the Woolwich Road near the Blackwall Tunnel (pictured above). You can also find 10 of Fastned's 300kW ultra-rapid charging points at Oxford's Energy Superhub, with these units capable of adding as much as 300 miles of range in 20 minutes to certain EVs.

Fastned network membership and charges

Payment for charging at Fastned stations can be made through the company's smartphone app or with any contactless payment card. Charging in the UK currently costs 73p per kWh – or 51p if you sign up for the Fastned 'Gold Membership' programme, which will cost you £9.99 per month.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Those planning to take their electric car on holiday to continental Europe should take particular note of the Fastned network, as it has numerous locations in its native Netherlands, as well as in Germany, France, Belgium and Switzerland. These can all be viewed on Fastned's website or through its mobile app.

Fastned is also the latest electric-car charging network to agree to have all of its locations across the UK evaluated for accessibility and safety, with the inspections and ratings to be carried out by independent organisation ChargeSafe. Each charging station will be given a score out of five based on over 60 criteria and these ratings will be publicly available.

ChargeSafe’s accessibility criteria was developed to be in-line with the British Standards Institute’s (BSI) forthcoming EV charging-point accessibility standard set to be published by the end of October 2022. The company’s safety criteria looks at lighting and CCTV, plus nearby facilities and how busy it typically is. As a result, the rating system for each site should provide drivers with more informed charging options for both day and night.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Richard is editor of DrivingElectric, as well as sister site Carbuyer.co.uk, and a regular contributor to Auto Express. An electric and hybrid car advocate, he spent more than five years working on the news and reviews desk at Auto Express and has driven almost every new car currently on sale.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

The UK’s fastest electric car charger is live, but it’s too fast for most EVs
Hyundai Ioniq 5 connected to Park Garages' hyper-rapid charger
News

The UK’s fastest electric car charger is live, but it’s too fast for most EVs

12 Sep 2024
Tethered or untethered home charger?
BMW i3 wallbox
Your questions answered

Tethered or untethered home charger?

20 Aug 2024
UK EV charging network grows by 47 per cent this year
EV public charging point
News

UK EV charging network grows by 47 per cent this year

30 Jul 2024
Gridserve’s new lab aims to boost electric car charging point reliability
Gridserve laboratory
News

Gridserve’s new lab aims to boost electric car charging point reliability

24 Jul 2024

Most Popular

Top 10 best hybrid estate cars 2025
Best hybrid estate cars
Best cars

Top 10 best hybrid estate cars 2025

The best hybrid estate cars you can buy right now save you money on fuel and still have lots of space inside. Here are our top picks
4 Dec 2024
MINI Aceman review
MINI Aceman - front tracking
In-depth reviews

MINI Aceman review

MINI’s all-electric small SUV is just as fun as the brand’s staple hatch, with an added layer of practicality
10 Dec 2024
Jaguar Type 00 finally revealed – dramatic concept maps out British brand’s luxury electric future
Jaguar Type 00 - front 3/4 static
News

Jaguar Type 00 finally revealed – dramatic concept maps out British brand’s luxury electric future

Jaguar has revealed the concept car on which its 'reimagining' as a super luxury electric carmaker is based
3 Dec 2024