Supercharge at Sainsbury's: Supermarket joins Tesla network

Sainsbury's has teamed up with Tesla to open new Supercharger stations at three Sainsbury's stores in the South of England to enable Tesla Model S owners to charge while they shop.

The new Supercharger stations are located at Sainsbury's Badger Farm in Winchester, Sainsbury's Pinhoe Road in Exeter, and Sainsbury's East Filton in Stoke Gifford. They are free to use by Supercharger-enabled Model S owners.

"We're excited to partner with Sainsbury's to continue the expansion of the country's fast-charging network for long-distance travel in electric cars," said Tesla's UK country director Georg Ell. "With Sainsbury's, Model S drivers can stop for a charge, use the Supermarket café, do a quick shop and get on their way again."

Sainsbury's is already offering its customers in Hendon the option of using greener fuels having launched the UK's first forecourt hydrogen dispenser last October. The 'SmartFuel' station joined the growing hydrogen-powered network as part of the London Hydrogen Network Expansion (LHNE) project, backed by UK Government and co-funded by Innovate UK.

Fast-charging network



Today's announcement also marks Tesla opening its 20th Supercharger station in the UK, continuing the rapid expansion of the fast-charging network to enable long-distance travel. New stations have already been opened in 2015 in Northampton, North London, Bristol, and Westfield White City. Currently, the Supercharger network spans routes from Exeter to Edinburgh, with Tesla planning full UK coverage by the end of 2015.



Supercharger Stations enable long-distance travel in electric vehicles by replenishing half a charge in as little as twenty minutes. Tesla has more than 300 Supercharger stations with over 1,600 Superchargers worldwide, making it both the fastest-growing and largest fast-charging network in the world.



Tesla Supercharger stations are only compatible with Tesla's own Supercharger Models. However, last year edie reported that Tesla was opening up its technology patents for others to use in a bid to accelerate the development of zero-emissions vehicles across the globe.

Lucinda Dann