Hot on the heels of Ecotricity and Gridserve announcing a boost to the UK's electric car charging services, BP has confirmed ambitious plans to expand its own offering.

BP took over the Chargemaster operation and the new service goes by the name of BP Pulse.

Chargers have been popping up on BP forecourts, meaning that motorists don't have to drive to the back of a hotel car park to find a charge - they can do it alongside those tanking up on petrol on diesel - while being able to pop in and get a snack at the same time.

Now BP Pulse is working with The EV Network in a new partnership to expand BP's footprint, with the aim of hitting 16,000 charge points by 2030 - a 30-fold increase in capacity.

The focus will be on ultra-fast charging, with BP saying that some of these will also be within easy reach of the UK's motorway network. While Ecotricity has contracts in place covering most of the UK's motorways, it looks like BP Pulse wants to provide an alternative.

The company aims to deliver a pure electric forecourt with 24 charging points later in 2021, to compete with the electric forecourt already opened by Gridserve in 2020.

The news is good for owners of electric cars. With a focus on providing fast charging, BP's existing sites provide plenty of opportunities to replace some parking spaces with charging spaces, while new sites will always be welcomed.

"We're taking another step forward in our commitment to make ultra-fast charging widely accessible across the UK, including in easy reach of the motorway network. These new hubs will complement BP Pulse's existing plans to expand the number of ultra-fast chargers on bp's forecourts and it's exciting to be launching this new additional option for drivers," said Matteo de Renzi, CEO of BP Pulse.