Mer EV charging facilities are installed at IWG the leading provider’s flexible workplaces

Mer have now installed the 25KW DC semi-rapid chargers at four of IWG’s work sites, after the companies teamed up to help the nation’s hybrid workplaces operate more sustainably. 

Over the next few months, the rollout will be extended to 30 of IWG’s UK workspaces, offering thousands of customers and their clients more environmentally-friendly transport options, helping to accelerate EV adoption. 

IWG – the world’s largest workspace provider – partnered with Mer as recent figures showed that 2021 was the most successful year in history for EV take-up in the UK. 

More than 190,000 BEVs (battery operated vehicles) were registered, along with more than 114,000 PHEVs (plug-in hybrids) and more than 147,000 HEVs (hybrid electric vehicles) – meaning the 27.5 per cent of the total new car market in the UK was electrified, in some form. 

These numbers are set to increase each year, ahead of the nation’s 2030 ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars and vans. 

However, one of the biggest challenges for the EV car industry is ensuring there is sufficient charging infrastructure – in the right places – to both dispel fears of running out of charge and also to ensure motorists can fill up regularly and conveniently. 

Mer’s mission is to make sustainable electric mobility easy and accessible to everyone

Although charge points will soon be mandatory at supermarkets and at new-build houses and apartment blocks, not everyone will have the ability to charge at home. Therefore it is absolutely crucial for businesses to come on board to ensure employees and clients can be confident of having sufficient EV charging stations near them to support the UK’s carbon-emission goals. 

Mer’s mission is to make sustainable electric mobility easy and accessible to everyone – by simplifying the EV charging experience through its cutting edge EV charger tech and payment solutions. 

Meanwhile, IWG – the parent company of flexible workspace brands Regus, Spaces, HQ and Basepoint – is leading the hybrid work revolution, whereby people can split their working hours between home, a local workspace and the HQ. This flexible approach brings cost efficiencies for companies looking to streamline their operations and avoid using resources they no longer need, reducing their environmental impact. 

IWG’s recent white paper, Hybrid World: Sustainable World, highlights how hybrid working is essential to help businesses reach their ESG (environmental, social and governance) targets due to its role in reducing fossil fuel emissions, among other benefits.  

The new charges at IWG locations make it possible for customers to use EVs for short trips to their local flexible workspace, and also supports the concept of the 15-Minute City – a sustainable urban planning concept where everything citizens need in life exists within a 15-minute journey from their home, without the use of polluting transport. 

Anthony Hinde, Mer UK’s Managing Director, said: “Sustainability has never been more important for people when they choose brands they want to work with, or for. 

“What we are seeing is that when companies offer EV charging – it is both a great incentive and something their customers and clients greatly appreciate.” 

Commenting on the success of Mer’s new charging facilities at IWG’s Spaces workspace in Marlow, Bucks, Community Manager Darren Brooks said:  

“Our customers are very happy with the new electric vehicle charge points. Giving people the freedom to work how and where they want is at the heart of the hybrid model, so it’s brilliant that we can offer them the added convenience of being able to charge their electric vehicles while they work.” 

Mer’s semi-rapid charges can boost an EVs charge to 80% in around 1-2 hours. This makes them a great choice for flexible work environments like IWG’s, where clients and employees can add approximately 100 miles to their vehicles in less than an hour. 

EV charging stations have already been installed at Regus Atterbury Lakes, Milton Keynes; Spaces Globe Park, Marlow; Regus Chester Business Park and Basepoint’s Bromsgrove Enterprise Park. 

Mer is focused on installing EV infrastructure into high-usage, high-footfall locations, like workplaces, public places, car parks and residential areas where people don’t have access to their own garages or driveways. 

The company currently operates over 400 chargers across the UK, with a mix of rapid, semi-rapid, ultra-rapid and fast chargers.