Gridserve's 24-bay M25 hub leads five new UK rapid hubs in September

Five new ultra-rapid charging hubs opened in England in September, led by Gridserve’s 24-bay Electric Super Hub at Cobham Services on the M25. The others are in Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Lichfield and Huddersfield. For drivers, the catch is price: where networks have published rates, pay-as-you-go charging at these sites runs from 79p to 92p per kWh.

This is our monthly round-up of new public rapid hubs. We also cover one site just outside the month: Ionity’s first London hub, which opened in August.

Which rapid charging hubs opened in September 2026?

Hub	Location	Bays or chargers	Top power	Opened	Pay-as-you-go price
Gridserve Electric Super Hub	Cobham Services, M25 junctions 9 and 10	24 bays	400kW-capable	Announced 24 September	82p to 89p/kWh (network)
RAW Charging	Bentley Bridge Leisure Park, Wolverhampton	22 bays (16 DC ultra-rapid, 2 DC rapid, 4 AC)	Not given	Around 21 September	Not quoted at launch
InstaVolt	Wall Island, Lichfield	14 chargers	160kW	Reported 30 September	92p/kWh
Arnold Clark Charge	Huddersfield Motorstore	6 ultra-rapid chargers	Not given	22 September	Not quoted at launch
Fastned	Tower Street, Liverpool	8 bays	400kW	Announced 1 September	79p/kWh (reported network rate)

Cobham is the largest site and the only one on a motorway, while Fastned and Gridserve share the highest headline power. Our guide to the best ultra-rapid charging hubs ranks the leading operators, including Gridserve and Fastned, on reliability, coverage and price.

Why does Gridserve’s Cobham hub matter beyond the M25?

Gridserve says its 24 bays use its latest 400kW-capable chargers, which add more than 100 miles of range in under 10 minutes on cars that can accept that power. It is one of seven new Super Hubs that Extra and Gridserve planned to open by late 2026, adding 96 high-power bays, electrive reported in November 2025.

The bigger story is the grid connection. Gridserve worked with UK Power Networks, the regional network operator, and ESP, an independent network operator, to connect the site using a Distributed Energy Resources Management System (DERMS). It can raise or lower the site’s power in under 60 seconds, letting the hub draw extra capacity whenever the local network has it spare.

According to Transport + Energy, it is the first time UK Power Networks has had a fully flexible demand customer on DERMS through an independent network operator. Gridserve says the approach lets high-power sites connect more quickly and with lower upfront costs. If others copy it, drivers get more large hubs sooner. We would want to know how often speeds are cut at busy times before calling it a clear win. For how plug-in-and-charge works on Osprey sites, see our Osprey Go Autocharge report.

Zapmap’s network guide lists Gridserve’s DC prices at 82p to 89p/kWh, with Gridserve Plus costing £7.99 a month for discounted rates. See our Gridserve vs InstaVolt comparison for how the two networks compare.

Fastned reaches 40 UK hubs with Liverpool

Fastned’s newest site is on Tower Street, close to Brunswick Business Park in Liverpool. electrive reports eight bays served by four chargers, each capable of up to 400kW, with Fastned claiming compatible cars can add up to 200 miles in 10 minutes. The site has extra-wide bays, suspended cables and solar canopies.

It is Fastned’s 40th UK hub, close to halfway towards its target of 91. Its main appeal is price: UK pay-as-you-go charging has been reported at 79p/kWh, the lowest in this round-up, and a £4.99-a-month Gold membership cuts that to about 55p/kWh (see Fastned’s tariff page). We compare it in detail in Osprey vs Fastned.

RAW, InstaVolt and Arnold Clark: the Midlands and Yorkshire openings

RAW Charging, Wolverhampton

RAW switched on 22 bays at Bentley Bridge Leisure Park: 16 DC ultra-rapid, two DC rapid and four AC, according to EV Fleet World. Drivers who signed up to RAW Rewards could charge free on 22 and 23 September. The hub is part of a £24.5m, 20-year partnership delivering 1,000 bays across 28 retail and leisure destinations, so expect more like it.

InstaVolt, Lichfield

InstaVolt’s Wall Island hub has 14 chargers at up to 160kW, including four accessible bays, reported Lichfield Live. The report says many EVs can go from 20 to 80% in about 20 minutes there. At 92p/kWh, though, it is the most expensive of the published prices in this round-up.

Arnold Clark Charge, Huddersfield

Arnold Clark opened six public ultra-rapid chargers at its Huddersfield Motorstore on 22 September, FleetPoint reported. It is small, but public dealer sites add useful capacity in towns.

What is coming next: Ionity moves into London

Ionity, best known for motorway sites, opened 12 bays of up to 400kW at Greenwich Shopping Park on 19 August 2026, according to electrive. It is the first of a pipeline of London hubs, following an urban site in Aston, Birmingham, in February, with Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh also planned. Ionity wants about 30% of its network in dense urban areas by 2030. Its Power 365 and Motion 365 annual plans start from 43p/kWh, a real option for city drivers without a driveway. See Ionity vs Tesla Supercharger.

How much does a top-up cost at the new hubs?

Using the published prices, here is what adding 40kWh would cost at each network.

Network	Price per kWh	Cost of 40kWh	Subscription
Ionity (annual plan)	From 43p	£17.20 plus plan fee	Power 365 or Motion 365
Fastned	79p (reported)	£31.60	Gold membership, £4.99 a month
Gridserve	82p to 89p	£32.80 to £35.60	Gridserve Plus, £7.99 a month
InstaVolt Lichfield	92p	£36.80	None quoted

The gap between the cheapest and dearest pay-as-you-go rate is £5.20 on a single 40kWh charge, or £270.40 a year if you do it weekly. For a fuller picture, see our latest public charging prices and our guide to EV charging subscriptions.

What this means for you

If you regularly use the M25 around junctions 9 and 10, Cobham is the most useful opening of the month, and 24 bays should mean less queueing. In the North West, Fastned’s Liverpool hub is the one we would choose on price. Midlands drivers gain real capacity at Wolverhampton and Lichfield, but InstaVolt’s 92p/kWh is steep for regular use.

Our take: new bays are welcome, but price matters more than peak power for most drivers. If you rapid charge more than occasionally, pick a network near your regular routes and check whether a subscription would pay for itself before you plug in.