Aberdeenshire firm expands after deal to roll out hundreds of 'flat-and-flush' EV chargers

Aberdeenshire-based Trojan Energy is to expand and add jobs after landing a deal to install hundreds of vehicle charging points in one of London’s biggest boroughs.

Barnet Council has awarded a contract to Trojan to deliver the £4.65 million project, £3.5m of which was secured in government grant funding, to boost the number of EV charging points in the borough.

Hundreds of chargers, designed to be flat-and-flush with the pavement, will enable residents without driveways to charge their electric vehicles easily and locally, the firm said.

Trojan Energy’s on-street charging points will be located across 34 of Barnet’s streets, and will be operational in phases by November 2022 and March 2023.

Headquartered in Stonehaven, the company has a workforce of more than 30. Trojan plans to increase the team to around 60 by the end of 2022 through the creation of new roles including engineering positions, project managers and customer service leads.

Some of these roles will be fulfilled by members of the local community in and around Barnet.

Chief executive Ian Mackenzie said: “Trojan Energy’s mission has always been to ensure everyone benefits from the energy transition. We know that people are four times more likely to own an electric vehicle if they have a driveway but, by rolling out Trojan Energy’s on-street charging points, we are making owning an EV increasingly accessible to the millions of motorists that park on-street without cluttering our streets with permanent charging posts.

“This is Trojan Energy’s largest contract to date and it puts us firmly in a position to lead the widespread roll-out of clutter-free on-street EV charging to urban areas. Our charging points will provide EV charging for hundreds of Barnet’s EV drivers and will enable thousands more to make the switch.

The flat-and-flush charging point design leaves the pavement clear of clutter and fully accessible to other pavement users when not in use. Customers use a lance which they keep in their possession to connect their vehicle to the charging point at the roadside.

“This keeps us on track to deliver on our ambitious target to deploy several thousand Trojan charging points over the next two to three years.”

He added: “Trojan Energy is setting new standards in customer experience, charge point reliability and transparency. The government’s ambition is to increase the quality of the public EV-charging infrastructure and we are leading the way on this.”

Barnet Council environment and climate change committee chair, Alan Schneiderman, said: “Our scheme to install hundreds more EV charging points is part of our wider sustainability programme to transform Barnet into a net zero borough. Supporting electric vehicles will not only help us ensure the air we breathe in Barnet is cleaner, it will also take us the next step closer to becoming a sustainable borough.

“Essential to the success of our programme will be working with partners and our residents and communities to provide the right support and infrastructure that will benefit everyone today who calls Barnet home, as well as preparing for tomorrow’s generation.”

The flat-and-flush charging point design leaves the pavement clear of clutter and fully accessible to other pavement users when not in use. Customers use a lance which they keep in their possession to connect their vehicle to the charging point at the roadside.