BP Pulse on the road to profitability

BP expects continued margin growth in its EV charging division BP Pulse in 2024, with the unit still on track to become profitable in 2025, the firm said in its full year 2023 results.

BP does not break out numbers for the division’s profits but said energy sold through its charge points was up 150pc on 2022 levels in 2023, with a 35pc year-on-year increase in the number of chargers.

BP launched the division in 2018 in the UK and has been expanding the network overseas. It now has 29,000 charge points globally and hopes to reach 40,000 by 2025.

It is initially focused on the UK, US, German and Chinese markets.

“You have seen us very, very focused on the places that we think maximum adoption rates will happen,” says CEO Murray Auchincloss on the results call. “Two of those countries are profitable already, and we feel very comfortable that we'll move into profitability with the other countries as well.”

Last year the firm said its units in China and Germany had become Ebitda positive.

Regional strategies

BP announced last year it will invest $1bn in EV charging in the US by 2030, with an approved budget of $500mn approved for the scheme over the next three years.

And in October last year BP Pulse reached a $100mn agreement to use Tesla’s fast charging units – the first time for hardware will be used on an independent EV charging network. The rollout is planned to begin in 2024.

In the US the firm has also acquired residential charging firm Blueprint power in an effort to improve its domestic charging footprint.

In the UK BP opened the country’s largest EV charging hub last year at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. The hub has 30 ultra fast 150 kW charging points and 150 7kW charging points.

The division also has a collaboration agreement with Spanish utility Iberdrola to install 11,000 fast charge points across Spain and Portugal by 2030.