Drivers who have never experienced an electric car tend to fear that charging will be a hassle and assume filling up with fuel is far more convenient. There’s no doubt that topping up a tank is quicker than even the fastest battery recharge, but there is a fundamental difference: you don’t need to stay with your electric car while it charges. That means you can do other things which are a lot more interesting and productive than standing by a pump.

For the majority of electric car drivers, that other activity will be sleeping. While you are tucked up in bed your car will be refreshing its cells, either on your drive or at an on-street charger, such as one of ubitricity’s innovative lamp post charging points.

If you are awake and on the move, you could pull into one of the 230 Shell service stations which feature Recharge rapid DC chargers and have a coffee or check your emails while you add a few miles to your range.

Charging at the supermarket is the most popular choice for drivers when out and about

But according to an Electrifying.com survey of 3,500 drivers, the most popular place to charge away from home is at the supermarket, with 37% giving this their vote. It makes perfect sense – your car is going to be parked anyway while you peruse the shelves, so why not top up while you are there?Shell Recharge has partnerships with two of the UK’s favourite supermarkets to provide power to customers’ cars, and both are expanding quickly. The first is with the UK’s fifth largest supermarket, Aldi. Shell has added 140 chargers, with the potential of more to follow to match rising customer demand. Aldi has also installed charge points at its headquarters in Atherstone to encourage and support the uptake of sustainable driving.

The bigger partnership is with Waitrose, deepening a relationship between the two brands which will see double the number of Shell forecourt shops where Waitrose food is available – perfect if you want to grab a sandwich or pick up tonight’s dinner while getting a top up. In addition, John Lewis’ Click & Collect service is now available in even more Shell forecourt shops, so you will also be able to pick up those new shoes or your niece’s birthday present while you charge.

Leading the charge: how Shell Recharge is planning to reshape the UK’s public charging network

Shell's rapid chargers will top up your car while you get some loo rolls and tonight's dinner

The companies are targeting the installation of 800 Shell Recharge electric vehicle charging points in up to 100 Waitrose supermarket locations across the UK by 2025. A typical site usually has six 22kW and two 50kW rapid charging points so customers can charge their vehicles while they shop. The roll out is progressing quickly, with 138 charge points live at 21 sites across the UK already.

The 22 kW points are designed to be ‘future proof’, offering significantly higher power output than the 7kW chargers which are generally available. This will ensure newer models which support greater charging speeds will be able to take on three times the power, allowing drivers to add meaningful amounts of range while they shop.

Bernadette Williamson, General Manager Shell UK Retail, said: “Electric car drivers across the UK know they can easily, quickly and reliably charge up at Shell charge points while shopping at Waitrose. We want to make charging as hassle-free as possible and support our customers wherever they want to charge.”

Waitrose Executive Director, James Bailey, said: “This is an important partnership for Waitrose and means we can offer even greater convenience to more of our customers. We're also delighted to bring our customers 800 new charging points for electric vehicles, including new rapid charging capabilities, as the UK moves more and more towards a sustainable transport network.”

In addition to DC rapid chargers, Shell will be installing 'future proof' 22kW AC points