Public Charging Network

Charging an EV, regardless of make/model/type should be familiar to anyone who’s filled an ICE vehicle before. Each EV has a charging port, which could be located at one of several locations around your vehicle; typically at the side rears or front of the car.

Because an EV is powered by electricity, the source of which can come from various places. For a lot of Irish EV owners, their primary source of filling the battery will be at home. But there are also several providers of public infrastructure where you can pull-up, plug-in and charge your car.

The variables for charging are easy enough to understand. A quick guide to explain the key terms is:

• kWh: KiloWatt hours, which refers to the maximum capacity of your battery. 
• kW: kiloWatts, the measure for how quickly your vehicle is charging.
• CCS: Combined charging system, one of the most common standards for fast charger plugs. Think of it like the USB-C of cars. Often found at rapid charging facilities.
• Type-2: The slower cousin to CCS, often how you’ll charge at home or at slower destination chargers (e.g. hotels, etc.).

A hot tip for charging, especially when charging at public infrastructure, is to charge up to 80% only. The final 20% will take a lot longer than the other 80%. The reason for this is complex and science-based as a result of electrons finding their way to their destination. But the point here is that unless you need that extra 20%, there’s no need to continue spending money when it’s going to take so long to get there.

There are always other providers coming onto the market, including destination chargers at hotels, spas and shops. But below is a reasonably compressive list of providers in Ireland.

Applegreen

Applegreen has recently rolled out DC Fast chargers (Chademo/CCS) in some of their locations, which can be found via their own AG Electric app or third party apps like ZapMap or ChargePoint.

EasyGo

This Irish privately-owned company has second largest network today. They provide upwards of 3000 chargers across the island with big plans to expand beyond. They require membership to utilise their network, via an app, QR scan or RFID card.

ePower

This Irish privately-owned company is growing in their presence of public DC and AC charge points across the country. You can access their chargers through their ePower EV Carging app or Plugsurfing app.

eCars

eCars provide around 1400 chargers around the country, invested-in by the governments’ Climate Action Fund. In order to utilise an eCars unit, you’ll need to have signed up on their site and use their app or RFID card.

Circle K

Various Circle K forecourts across the country have EV charging stations. You can find all types of charging points present in Circle K stations using the Site locator and using “Electric car” filter in the advances search function.

Ionity

Ionity hosts several hubs in Ireland. These are exclusively CCS DC fast chargers. They boast rapid chargers up to 300kW speeds.

Tesla

Tesla has a network of superchargers (DC hubs) and destination chargers (AC charger points). SuperChargers are exclusively reserved for Tesla vehicles, whereas destination chargers (usually found in hotels and restaurants) are often found in pairs, one being reserved for Tesla vehicles, the other for any EV.

Weev

Weev is one of the newer CPOs on the market and they have been involved in the Faster project to boost the charging infrastructure on the border counties, but are expanding across the Ilse of Ireland.  

Too many networks and maps ?
There are app regrouping these network. None is really comprehensive and there are always a few charge points missing but these could be a great help if they cover the charging networks you are regularly using, depending on your situation:

• OpenChargeMap
• Zapmap
• Plugshare

DC Pricing compared on these platforms (correct as of 21st April 2024)

You are a provider and believe information here is incorrect/incomplete? Please let us know by sending us a message at editor@irishevassociation.ie!