Trading Gas Pumps For EV Chargers In Norway

Last Updated on: 28th March 2025, 01:47 pm

In some parts of Norway, especially around the capital city of Oslo, electric cars are nearly half of all the passenger vehicles on the road. That means they won’t be stopping at gas stations anytime soon to fill their tanks.

There is an entire industry that caters to motorists who need to purchase gasoline or (Heaven forbid!) diesel fuel in order to continue their journeys, whether to the grocery store or to some exotic location in Europe. Many have adopted the idea of being mini malls where drivers can purchase food, beverages, and sundries like sunglasses, hair spray, or mittens. But those EV drivers won’t be buying any of that stuff — which sells at a rather high markup because there isn’t much opportunity for competitive shopping while on the road — unless they can charge the batteries in their cars at the same time. To lure those drivers, many service center operators are removing one or more gas pumps and installing EV chargers instead. According to Bloomberg Hyperdrive, at the Uno-X Furuset service area on the outskirts of Oslo, four gas pumps have become three. The cement base where one pump used to be is now ready to accept an EV charger in its place.

Circle K and St1 are Norway’s first and third largest service center owners. At their facilities near Oslo, a similar change is taking place as those companies try to figure out how to tap the market for EV drivers the way they have for drivers of conventional cars. At some service areas, the fuel pumps are all being removed to make way for EV chargers. “We are looking to build a bridge from the traditional gasoline and diesel business,” Ole Johannes Tonnessen, the chief operating officer of Uno-X Mobility Norway, said during a recent visit to Furuset. “We have gone from the traditional, to targeting the future.”

Bloomberg says the number of gas pumps is shrinking worldwide. In the UK, there are 80% fewer stations today than there were 60 years ago. While large oil companies have some of the biggest networks of service areas, they account for only 14 percent of ultra-fast chargers in Europe. Since Norway is poised to be the world’s first all-EV market, it is a harbinger of the changes that are coming to the industry. Gasoline sales in Norway are a third of what they were a decade ago, and sales of diesel fuel were down about 6 percent in 2023. Ten percent of the 2,000 gas stations in the country now offer EV chargers in addition to fuel pumps.

Declining demand for liquid fuels and the costs associated with servicing and maintaining pumps are driving the decision making process as to whether gas pumps need to go, says Anders Kleve Svela, Circle K’s senior e-mobility manager. To keep pace with the changing market, Norwegian fuel-station operators like Circle K are investing in chargers even in more rural communities such as Minnesund.

Once a pump is disconnected from power and fuel supplies, removal can be handled by two people in a matter of minutes. Bolts that connect the dispenser to the cement base are loosened so that the entire stand can be tipped sideways. It’s then edged along by a pair of steel rods onto a wooden pallet to be freighted away and stored along with other spare parts. Today, those pumps enjoy prime locations at the front of a service area and are generally under a roof, Svela said. As the number of EV drivers in Norway continues to increase, clearing the forecourt of old tech means making room for chargers under canopies in a similar way.

EV Chargers Are Replacing Gas Pumps In Norway

Swapping pumps for chargers is a transition that is just getting started. Uno-X has replaced about 30 pumps with chargers in Norway, while Circle K has done just over a dozen at eight sites. It expects to replace pumps with chargers at another 10 to 15 sites over the next 12 months. St1 is poised to open its first EV-charger-only station in central Oslo next month at a location that used to be a Shell station that catered solely to cars powered by combustion engines. Circle K began expanding into EV charging a decade ago via a partnership and is increasingly offering the service under its own brand. It has about 20 stations that offer EV chargers that are protected by a roof to shield motorists from inclement weather. Most of these EV centric service areas were created by removing the pumps that once supplied gasoline and diesel fuel.

Uno-X has gone from not having a single charger five years ago, to operating over 170 today. That figure includes chargers installed in the parking lots of 7-Elevens and Rema1000 grocery stores. During a visit to the Uno-X location in Furuset, Tonnessen focused on the four new 400 kW fast chargers recently installed to meet the needs of drivers of electric trucks. With commercial vehicles seen as the next big step in the electrification of transport, the station has become a kind of testbed for the company. “The question is, what is good timing?” Tonnessen said. “Instead of waiting for customers to come to us, as happened with passenger cars, we are trying to get ahead.”

The city of Oslo is helping to establish a charging network for battery powered commercial vehicles in Oslo, beginning with the installation of high-power EV chargers at the St1 Shell station in Rommen. “At St1, we have been investing in charging infrastructure for years, and we are pleased that Oslo Municipality is helping to expand options for larger vehicles. This is a growing market, but to ensure a balance between supply and demand, we need support to build an efficient network, as Oslo Municipality is striving to achieve,” said Jonas Bæk, in charge of business development at St1.

The Rommen station is the first of its kind for the company in Scandinavia, with three 400 kW fast chargers now installed. Two of them feature load balancing between units to distribute power and ensure that each vehicle receives maximum charging efficiency during its session. The third charger is standalone, continuously delivers maximum power, and is designed for vehicles up to 18 meters (60 feet) long. All the EV chargers at the Rommen location meet universal design requirements, which means they are accessible for wheelchair users.

The Shell Rommen facility has undergone a complete renovation, and now offers a more welcoming atmosphere, with additional seating for customers who wish to enjoy a meal and relax while charging their vehicles. It will serve as a model for the future of EV charging not only in Norway but in every country where the transition to electric vehicles is taking place. Service areas are big business and the companies that operate them need to plan for how they will attract EV drivers to their locations as the number of conventional cars on the road dwindles. Uno-X, Circle-K, and ST1 are creating those new business models in Norway today.