InstaVolt, the UK’s largest ultra-rapid charging network, is celebrating its ninth birthday marking almost a decade of innovation, international expansion and industry-leading reliability.
To celebrate, the business is reflecting on its nine years by sharing milestones from its journey so far – starting with its founding in 2016.
In 2017, InstaVolt installed its first charger in Devon, expanding rapidly and reaching its 200th only one year later in 2018. This impressive growth continued into 2019, which saw the business power its 2 millionth emission free mile. This was equivalent to the annual CO2 absorption of more than 26,000 trees, reinforcing the important role the chargers have always played in making transport greener and cleaner.
(Left to right) InstaVolt’s CEO, Delvin Lane, Leader of Winchester City Council, Martin Tod, and MP for Winchester Danny Chambers at the official opening of InstaVolt’s Superhub in Winchester. Photo credit: Jas Lehal/PA Media Assignments
While the world was going through a fairly notable 2020 event, InstaVolt was installing its first site as part of its exclusive McDonald’s partnership. This exclusive agreement is still in place today as they approach 300 sites and 650 chargers and have thousands more planned in the coming years.
Things got a whole lot faster in 2021, when InstaVolt launched its first BYD ultra-rapid chargers, reducing charging times by up to an incredible 50%.
This was also the year InstaVolt launched its App and Volts loyalty scheme on top of the industry-leading tap-and-go contactless payments, making it easier for drivers to find chargers and plan journeys, while still retaining the ease-of-use model which InstaVolt pioneered.
The App now sees some 400,000 EV drivers taking advantage of the benefits including the price leading off-peak rate for 11 hours every day. This number represents around a quarter of all EV drivers on the road with hundreds more joining every week.
With the network constantly expanding, 2022 saw InstaVolt’s drivers charge their 2 millionth session. Then, in 2023, InstaVolt was busy doubling the size of its Banbury hub, expanding access to ultra-rapid chargers in this critical location close to the M40 – and creating another key milestone as its 1,000th charger was installed on this site. Also, that year was the opening of its first international site in Iceland.
Last year, InstaVolt enjoyed a number of big successes such as opening its 14-charger site at its West London hub in Syon Park, as well as further international expansion with chargers launched across Spain, Portugal and the Republic of Ireland.
This year, InstaVolt opened its landmark and multi award-winning site – the Winchester Superhub. Hailed as a first of its kind, the flagship location offers 44 ultra-rapid chargers, fully accessible bays and on-site renewable energy generation through its own battery storage system and solar panels.
A UK first also happened in 2025 with a fully integrated battery storage system at a motorway service station being developed at Corley Services on the M6. The company has now exceeded their 9 millionth charging session which equates to a staggering 200 million kg of greenhouse gas saving – the equivalent of over 800 million emission free miles.
CEO of InstaVolt Delvin Lane said: “Nine years! What an amazing milestone to reach. From the earliest days of our first chargers and bringing in a simple and innovative tap-and-go payment system, to this year, which saw us open the ‘service station of the future’ at Winchester.
“We have a history of being first and are always looking to innovate and have now secured planning for the installation of our 3,000th charger within the next year taking our locations to over 850 in the UK. Even with this massive level of expansion our key principles have remained the same: reliable, fast charging which puts the needs of our customers first.
“This approach has seen drivers rely on us to deliver millions of charging sessions, taking them around the UK and abroad. Our ninth birthday is a huge milestone and we’re proud to celebrate just how far we’ve come in that time and look forward to the many years ahead continuing to innovate for the drivers of tomorrow.”
