The fastest public EV chargers in Ireland

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 filled. The lower the number, the longer the battery will take to charge. For example, take the sizeable 93.4kWh 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 30 minutes or so. That’ll be reduced further at a 350kW fast-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 Nissan Leaf, however, no matter how powerful the charger, will still only charge at its maximum 50kW rate, meaning that it’s still going to take around 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
• Price: Pay-as-you-go for €0.73/kWh; other price plans available
• Payment: via smartphone app or QR code

IONITY is a company with locations mostly around Europe’s motorway network including its five 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: M8 – Ballacolla; M7 – Birdhill; M1 – Castlebellingham; Cork – Mahon Point; Tralee; more coming soon
• Price: €0.29/kWh if no charging credits
• 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 150kW DC Supercharger stations around Ireland, there are “Destination Chargers” at dozens of locations around the county with charging speeds ranging from 6kW up to 22kW. Until now, Superchargers have been for the exclusive use of Tesla owners, however there are hints that that may change in the coming months with some Tesla-only locations in Europe now opening up to drivers of other vehicles. 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-150kW
• Locations: nationwide
• Price: Pay-as-you-go - €0.35-€0.44/kWh; with €4.60/month subscription - €0.39-€0.48/kWh (prices following May 2022 increase)
• Payment: debit/credit cards or via app

ESB ecars is Ireland’s most wide-ranging charging network with hundreds of locations around Ireland. While most 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.

EasyGo

• Speed: up to 50kW
• Locations: nationwide
• Price: €0.24 access fee plus €0.10-€0.35/kWh + 13.5 per cent VAT
• Payment: subscription

EasyGo is an Irish company which, 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. The majority of its chargers of the slower variety, but it does provide some up to a 50kW speed.