Oil giants Shell and BP have each recently achieved firsts in their drive to increase electric vehicle use.

UK supermajor BP last week unveiled its first 150 kilowatt ultra-fast electric vehicle charging points under its BP Chargemaster brand.

Two charging points have now opened at a BP retail site at Cranford, near London’s Heathrow Airport, the first in a planned rollout that will see 400 such points at BP sites in the UK by the end of 2021.

BP’s downstream chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said: “As the world of mobility evolves, BP is determined to be the fuel provider of choice whether drivers need electric charging or liquid fuels.”

He added: “Convenient and reliable ultra-fast charging will be critical in driving the wider adoption of electric vehicles in the UK.”

Anglo-Dutch rival Shell, meanwhile, this week launched Shell Recharge, a first in electric vehicles for Singapore and Southeast Asia.

The company will have 50kW rapid direct current chargers available at 10 Shell stations before the end of the year, beginning with the Sengkang station in Singapore this month.

Aarti Nagarajan, general manager of Shell Retail Singapore, said: “Our insights show that Singaporeans worry about lack of sufficient and fast charging options for EVs. Which is why we are taking the first step to launch Shell Recharge and offering customers a rapid charging solution at convenient and strategic locations.”

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