History
Chargemaster was founded in Luton in 2008 by David Martell, the founder and former CEO of Trafficmaster.[7] Shareholders included the venture capital arm of BMW, BMW i Ventures,[8] and technology company Qualcomm.[9]
The company launched its POLAR network of public charging points in 2011.[10] By 2017, the network had over 5,000 public charging points,[11] just under 40% of the total of more than 13,000 charging points in the UK.[12]
In 2012, Chargemaster announced its involvement in a trial of wireless charging for electric vehicles in London, in partnership with Qualcomm.[13] Growth capital, initially £3 million, was invested by Beringea in 2014.[14][15]
Chargemaster launched its POLAR Plus subscription scheme in 2015, allowing members to pay a monthly fee for access to its public charging network, with points earned each time a member uses a public charging point, which could be traded for a week-long experience in one of a fleet of electric vehicles operated by Chargemaster, including a BMW i8 and a Tesla Model S.[16]
Chargemaster acquired Hereford-based GB Electrical, a national electrical contractor specialising in the installation of electric vehicle charging points, in 2015.[17] The business had been working with Chargemaster since 2013 and is an authorised installer of charging points installed under both the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme and the Workplace Charging Scheme, administered by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles.[18][19] Following the acquisition, Chargemaster announced a £15 million investment in its charging network to create 2,000 new charging points, which would include new ways to access the points, including contactless payments, alongside existing access methods of RFID cards and smartphone apps.[20]
In 2017, the company acquired the electric vehicle charging point supplier Elektromotive, including its charging network management subsidiary, Charge Your Car,[21] to form the UK's largest electric vehicle infrastructure provider.[22][23]
After being acquired by BP in 2018, the company's legal name changed from Chargemaster plc to Chargemaster Limited.[24] Martell retained a board position until June 2019.[25] Later that year, the company moved from Luton to newly built headquarters in the Linford Wood area of Milton Keynes.[26] In December 2020, the POLAR and Chargemaster brands were replaced by 'bp pulse'.[27]
Chargemaster has been listed in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 list of top performing British companies since 2014.[28]
