Although the majority of electric vehicle owners charge their cars at home overnight, for those taking longer, cross-country journeys, access to rapid charging is necessary. In the future too, a comprehensive network of fast chargers will be essential to make EV ownership possible for more people, for example those who live in apartments or terraced houses.
There are two key metrics that EV drivers need to consider when thinking about charging: kilowatts (kW) and kilowatt hours (kWh). The latter, in this case, refers to the energy capacity (i.e. the size) of the battery, and the bigger the battery, like a fuel tank, the longer it’s going to take to ‘fill’.
The important one here though is kilowatts, which, when talking about charging, refers to the speed at which the battery can be recharged. The lower the number, the longer the battery will take to charge. For example, take the sizeable 97kWh battery of the Audi e-tron GT. At a 7.4kW home charger, charging is an overnight job, taking around 13 hours from empty to full. At a 50kW charger, it’ll take around an hour and a half to charge to 80 per cent; at a 150kW charger, it’ll take 40 minutes or so. That’ll be reduced further at a 350kW ultra-rapid charger given the Audi’s 270kW charging ability. Bear in mind that these are all estimates, as in reality a car rarely charges at the maximum available rate for the duration of the charging session.
A car’s charging capacity is another thing to think about when talking about fast chargers — a Suzuki e Vitara, for instance, no matter how powerful the charger, will still only charge at its maximum 70kW rate on DC outlets, meaning that it’s still going to take between an hour and 90 minutes to top up from 20 per cent to 80 per cent capacity even at a 150kW charger.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the fastest public EV chargers in Ireland and where to find them.
IONITY
- Speeds: up to 350kW
- Locations: M1 – Citynorth; M11 – Gorey; M7 – Kill; M8 – Cashel; M6 – Athlone; M50 – Dublin North
- Price: Pay-as-you-go for €0.70/kWh; other price plans available to bring down the rate
- Payment: via smartphone app or QR code
IONITY is a company with locations around Europe’s motorway network including its six locations in Ireland. The company is part-owned by a group of car manufacturers including Audi, BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes, MINI, Porsche, Skoda and Volkswagen, and drivers of EVs from these companies get preferential rates at charge points.
Tesla Supercharger
- Speeds: up to 150kW
- Locations: Athenry; M8 – Ballacolla; M7 – Birdhill; M1 – Castlebellingham (northbound and southbound); Cork – Mahon Point; Dublin – Bracken Road; Enfield; Tralee
- Price: €0.42-€0.64/kWh, depending on off-peak and peak rates
- Payment: via Tesla Account
For many, access to Tesla’s Supercharger network is one of the brand’s biggest draws. In addition to its range of DC Supercharger stations around Ireland, there are “Destination Chargers” at dozens of locations around the county with charging speeds of up to 22kW. For a long time, Superchargers were for the exclusive use of Tesla owners, but the company has opened up approximately half of its countrywide network of the sites to non-Tesla EV drivers (Athenry, Cork, Dublin, Enfield and Tralee being the sites available). Destination Chargers are usually found in pairs, with one reserved for Tesla use only and the other being available to other motorists.
ESB ecars
- Speed: 22kW-360kW
- Locations: nationwide
- Price: Pay-as-you-go - €0.59-€0.66/kWh; with €4.79/month subscription - €0.54-€0.61/kWh
- Payment: debit/credit cards or via app
ESB ecars is Ireland’s most wide-ranging charging network with approximately 1,600 public chargers dotted around Ireland. While many of its chargers are of the 22kW and 50kW variety, ESB ecars does operate a number of 150kW fast chargers at mostly motorway locations around the country including on the M7 outside Portlaoise and at Mayfield, Co. Kildare as well as a select few other locations – but is now installing some ultra-rapid sites, such as the flagship hub at the Frascati shopping centre in Blackrock, South Dublin. This opened in December 2025 and has the capacity for up to eight cars, split over four charging units with two connections at each. These run at a whopping 360kW, making them among the most powerful units in the whole country – and, for those with cars able to take advantage, reducing charging times to something like 220km of range added in just 10 minutes.
EZO
Source: EZO.ie website
- Speed: up to 350kW
- Locations: nationwide
- Price: €0.27 access fee, pricing from €0.45/kWh for AC charging and €0.50/kWh for DC charging
- Payment: subscription
EZO is the network formerly known as EasyGo and, in addition to more than 1,000 of its own chargers around Ireland, also manages some chargers for ESB ecars and Circle K. Though there are a couple of different payment options available, all users must also subscribe via the company’s app to avail of the widespread EZO national network.
Brite
Source: Brite.ie website
Brite Charging is an Irish-owned private charge point operator focusing on rapid EV charging points for the public in the west of Ireland. Brite is located entirely in the city of Galway and has locations that will provide up to 300kW DC charging, while its pricing structure is based on when you charge – you pay more for any connection you make between 8am-11pm Friday-Sunday than you would for the same timeframe from Monday-Thursday, and then an even lower rate for ‘night’ charging at any time of the week between the hours of 11pm and 8am. For ultra-rapid chargers at 300kW, the price is between €0.56-€0.68/kWh, at rapid DC up to 240kW it’s €0.55-€0.65/kWh, and on AC 22kW connections it’s €0.48-€0.52/kWh. There is a 75-minute time limit on any DC charger operated by Brite, but AC chargers have unlimited charging sessions available.