London, UK 
March 19, 2026 Transport + Energy speaks to the managing director of Qwello UK, Martin Hale, about the chargepoint operator’s plans for the future.
Transport + Energy speaks to the managing director of Qwello UK, Martin Hale, about the chargepoint operator’s plans for the future.
Tell us about Qwello and your ambitions for the future, as well as the work you are currently undertaking.
As a fully funded pan-European Charge Point Operator (CPO), Qwello focuses on securing contracts with local authorities and landlords to deploy driver-focused charge points where public charging infrastructure is needed. This is especially true in locations where drivers cannot charge at home and at key destinations. This is because the most efficient charging occurs when you are engaged in another activity, particularly when you reach your destination.
Current Work & Ambitions:
- Expansion: Qwello currently operates over 15,000 public charge points across Europe, in major cities such as London, Berlin, Hamburg, and Stockholm.
- UK Focus: In the UK, Qwello has recently won contracts for over 2,700 charging points with The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, Cheshire East, the London Borough of Hounslow, Essex County Council, Chelmsford City, Braintree, Nuneaton & Bedworth; more will be announced soon.
- Ambitions: The company aims to become a “household name” for EV charging across Europe, renowned for providing the best possible charging experience. Qwello seeks to remove the final barrier to mass e-mobility adoption—the lack of accessible public charging infrastructure—by building dense, user-friendly networks in urban areas.
Can you tell us more about the challenges and opportunities around public charging?
Challenges:
- Grid Constraints: Urban electricity grids are frequently not designed to provide the required power, especially in car parks. This means the distance to the nearest connection can sometimes render a potential location unfeasible.
- The “Chicken-and-Egg” Problem: Consumers are hesitant to purchase Electric Vehicles (EVs) without accessible charging, yet infrastructure development often lags due to insufficient existing vehicle demand.
- Urban Access: Over 50% of city and town residents rely on on-street parking, lacking access to private home charging. This disparity is precisely what Qwello is addressing.
- User Experience: Common pain points include overly complex authentication, complicated payment systems, and charging bays blocked by non-EVs (“ICEing”). Our unique bay sensor alerts us when a bay is blocked, allowing us to report this immediately to enforcement agencies.
Opportunities:
- Government and Local Authorities: The commitment from government and local authorities to roll out public charging infrastructure is encouraging. Additionally, the announcement that existing government consultants will be employed for the next four years to review future strategy is highly positive. We are lobbying for the Dutch Open Model, which successfully allows residents in the Netherlands to request a public charge point near their home.
- Destination Charging: Shifting the focus to locations where cars are already parked for extended periods (e.g., leisure centres, high streets) facilitates convenient, slower charging, which is beneficial for battery health and grid stability. To reiterate: the fastest charging occurs when you are engaged in another activity.
- Smart Charging: We are trialling a feature that enables utility companies to dynamically throttle our charge points and balance the grid when necessary. This system incentivises drivers to charge when power is abundant and to refrain when it is not, a benefit currently available to those who charge at home.
(…)
Source
Read the full original article on Transport+Energy here.