Electric vehicles can plug in for free as pioneering piece of charging tech comes to Leeds

A super-quick electric vehicle charging point is being installed in the car park of the Merrion Centre, it was announced today.

The first of its kind in the city centre, the Rapid Charger station can provide electric vehicles with 80 per cent of their full power in as little as 20 minutes.

And, to celebrate its installation, Merrion car park owner CitiPark is running a money-saving introductory offer.

The first 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity used at the charging point from Monday, May 27, will be free, CitiPark has confirmed.

That amount of energy will be enough to charge around 20 cars on a first come, first served basis.

Ben Ziff, managing director of CitiPark and subscription-free electric vehicle charging network CitiCharge, said: "CitiCharge is proud to be the first to install this important piece of pioneering technology in Leeds city centre.

"We hope that this will be the first of many more to come, contributing towards making Leeds a standout, technologically advanced city."

The Rapid Charger station can charge two vehicles at the same time, using either a 50 kWh DC port or a 43 kWh AC port.

"The introduction of the Rapid Charger is a part of CitiPark’s wider commitment to going green and investing in sustainable technologies which conserve energy and lower pollution," said Mr Ziff.

"Following this first installation, the plan is to roll out more Rapid Chargers on the CitiCharge network and further improve the UK’s charging infrastructure.”

Other environmentally-friendly schemes currently taking shape in Leeds include the £125m Climate Innovation District eco-housing development, between Leeds Dock and South Accommodation Road.

The Department for Transport recently also announced £2.3m of funding for 14 ultra-low emission electric buses in West Yorkshire, five of which will serve the park-and-ride site planned for Stourton.