Nissan is rather quietly creating a vast European network of fast chargers to encourage the use of electric cars. The CHAdeMO quick chargers can charge up a Nissan LEAF, or other compatible electric vehicles, from 0 to 80 percent in 30 minutes, and they are completely free to use.
Nissan Quick Charger network rivals Tesla’s Supercharger stations spread across Europe to make it possible for the owners to embark on long journeys without the fear of running out of charge and waiting long hours to get going again. Unlike Tesla’s systems though, Nissan’s CHAdeMO takes longer to do the job. 30 minutes is great compared to the six hours it takes to charge the car at home, but still a long time compared to refueling with petrol or hydrogen.
But Nissan believes public fast chargers is a good solution for their EV problems, and keeps putting them up. In fact they just announced the installation of the 1,000th unit at the Roadchef Clacket Lane Services in Surrey, UK.
The new charger has been installed in collaboration with Ecotricity, a UK green energy specialist and pioneer in electric vehicle charging. The location south of London on the M25 motorway, one of the busiest in Europe, allows drivers west of London easy access to Kent and onwards into Europe. It brings UK’s total count of Nissan quick charger units to 195 stations.
