French oil major TotalEnergies and UK power firm SSE are seeking to capture a 20 per cent share of the electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging market in Britain and Ireland by launching a joint venture named Source.

Source, a 50/50 joint venture, will install and run up to 3,000 fast-charge stations in the two nations over the course of the next five years, using renewable energy provided by both parent firms. Using direct current instead of alternating current, the 150 kW fast-charging stations can fully charge an average electric vehicle (EV) battery in 30 to 60 minutes.

Although TotalEnergies will not disclose the exact amount invested, it did reveal that the costs associated with installing 3,000 fast-charge stations that run on direct current electricity will come to approximately 300 million euros.

TotalEnergies and SSE already manage the largest offshore wind farm in Scotland, Seagreen, Total also runs a network of 2,500 charging stations in and around London and over 65,000 throughout continental Europe, the majority of which are alternating current slow-charge stations.

At a conference, Mathieu Solas, director of new mobility at TotalEnergies, said: “We have developed a certain expertise in charging point management, construction, implementation, and client services. SSE knows the integrated electricity grid aspect of the business well, so the partnership is very complementary.”