How to use the Ionity Charging network - a complete guide

Choosing a public charging point for your electric vehicle can be a minefield, so to guide you through the charging process we inspect the UK's biggest charging networks. This time we're taking a look at IONITY, an Ultra-rapid charging network that spans across the European continent.

Who and what is IONITY?

IONITY is a joint venture between BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Porsche and Audi that aims to build a European-wide high power charging network for electric vehicles. Its headquarters are in Munich, Germany and Oslo, Norway. All of the aforementioned automotive manufacturers have their own mobile service provider (MSP) which customers can use to access discounts for charging with IONITY.

For example, at the time of writing, Audi's IONITY HPC "Transit" charge is £0.28 per kWh via a £16.81 monthly subscription, while its "City" charge is £0.70 per kWh plus a £4.91 monthly subscription, which if you look further down this page, is £0.01 more than the one-off IONITY payment charge.

IONITY ranked joint seventh place in a survey of EV drivers instituted by Zap-Map last year, scoring 3.5 stars out of five.

Trustpilot reviews are somewhat more scathing, with 1.6 stars out of five and 81% of electric car drivers reporting the service to be bad. However, any public EV charging network tends to have a scathing review...

Where are IONITY chargers located?

IONITY operates electric car charging stations in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and, of course, the United Kingdom.

Last November IONITY announced a €700m investment into rapid charging across Europe. The number of IONITY high-power electric vehicle charging points is due to quadruple to around 7000 by 2025.

These new 350kW high-power charging stations will not only be on motorway service stations but also near major cities and busy trunk roads. Existing sites in the EV charging network will also be upgraded to between six or twelve EV charging points.

At the moment there are 16 IONITY locations in the UK public EV charging network. You can find IONITY charging points at Alnwick, Baldock, Beaconsfield, Cambridge, Chippenham, Cullompton, Gretna Green, Leeds Skelton Lake, Maidstone and Milton Keynes, as well as Channel Gateway, Cobham, Cringleford, Peterborough, Perth and Polmadie.

IONITY is planning to build its own service stations in a similar manner to Gridserve's Electric Forecourts. IONITY's programme is called OASIS, but where these electric car charging stations will be is currently unknown, nor when the first one will open.

Octopus Energy, the UK's largest investor in solar power, provides the electricity for every all of IONITY's electric vehicle charging points and promises 100% renewable energy.

How to spot an IONITY charge point

IONITY charge points are very easy to spot due to the white colouring of their units with IONITY's purple logo and signature flying bird painted on the sides. To help with visibility even further, IONITY charge points are some of the tallest charge points on the market reaching up to 3 metres tall.

Some IONITY charge points also have an LED light ring above on top which glows white when it's not being used and purple when it is.

How do you pay and access an IONITY?

EV drivers have five ways to use the IONITY charging network, these are via: the IONITY app, using a web portal (QR Code), an MSP from one of the manufacturers mentioned above or by using either Electric juice or Shell Recharge.

Charging via the IONITY app

To start the charging process via the app, first, select the electric car charging station you'd like to use via the smartphone app. IONITY EV charging points are indicated by the IONITY red kite symbol.

Alternatively, use the QR code reader by tapping on the QR symbol in the right bottom corner of the map. There's a QR code on all IONITY charging points located near the display. Scan the code on the charge point and the charger will be loaded in the smartphone app. If using this method you can skip to step four in the guide below:

1. Click on Select Charger and, if needed, confirm by pressing Continue if you are ready to charge.
2. Select the charger in the app, at which your EV vehicle is in the car park. Ensure the number displayed on the charge point matches that in the smartphone app.
3. Press Start Charging if you would like to proceed with the charging session. You'll also see the cost of the charging session.
4. Select the payment you'd like to use, or enter a new one.
5. Confirm pre-authorisation (this is likely to cost £1).
6. Connect the charger to the electric car, ensuring the plug sits firmly. Wait for the app to display a Charger Connected message.
7. To stop the charge, swipe right at the bottom of the smartphone screen. A 'Your Receipt' message should show up. Alternatively, you can halt the charge on the charge point's display or via your electric car.
8. The receipt will be sent to your email address by the next day. You can keep track of old charging sessions in the smartphone app via the Charge History section.

Charging via IONITY's web portal (QR code)

If you do not wish to download IONITY's app, you can also use the website version of their charge management app. To this you will need to:

1. Scan the QR code on the charging point with any QR code scanner.*
   (*Iphone users can do this from the built-in camera app. Android users may need to use a separate QR code scanner app.)

2. If the QR code has been successfully scanned, you should be taken to the scanned charge point's website. Here you will be instructed to follow a set of steps to start a charge session.

3. After doing the above, you will then be sent to set of steps to complete your payment method.

4. After a payment has been authorised, you will then be asked to plug the chager's charging cable into your vehicle.

5. After pluggin-in, your vehicle should start charging.

Please keep the website tab used to start a charge session open as this will help when you need to stop the charging session. To stop a charging session, go onto the website tab you used to start your charge session with, tap "stop charge" and unplug your vehicle.

Charging via Electroverse

To charge via Electroverse you will need to:

1. Tap "start charge" on the charge point's screen.

2. Present your Electroverse card to the RFID reader. The screen should show a confirmation message letting you know that your electric juice card has been accepted

3. When prompted, grab the CCS connector located in a cradle on the side of the charge point and connect it to your vehicle's charging port.

4. When a successful connection between the charge point and the vehicle has been established, the connector will lock into place and your vehicle will start charging.

To stop your charging session, simply tap "stop charge" on the charge point's screen, present the same electric juice card you used to start your charge session to the charge point's RFID reader and remove the cable from your vehicle.

Alternatively, you can use the Electroverse app to start a remote charge session or use the newly added plug-and-charge feature if your vehicle supports it.

Charging via Shell Recharge

Shell Recharge has two ways of managing charge sessions at an IONITY charge point. The first is via an RFID card which is used in the same way as Electric Juice's RFID card. The second method is via the Shell Recharge app.

Via the RFID card

1. on the Ionity charge point's screen, tap "start charge"

2. Present your Shell Recharge card or key fob to the reader. The screen should show a confirmation message letting you know that your Shell Recharge card or key fob has been accepted

3. When prompted, grab the CCS connector located in a cradle on the side of the charge point and connect it to your vehicle's charging port.

4. When a successful connection between the charge point and the vehicle has been established, the connector will lock into place and your vehicle will start charging.

Via the app

1. Connect the charge point's cable to your vehicle's charging port

2. Open the Shell recharge app

3. Find the IONITY charge point you want to charge at by either finding it on the app's map or by searching for it in the search bar at the top of the screen.

4. Once you have found the charge point, tap "charge"

5. If there are multiple charge points in the vicinity, the app will ask you which charge point you want to use. This can be done by matching the serial number of the charge point (usually located near the charge point's screen) to the list of charge points shown on the Recharge app.

6. Tap "charge"

Your car should now begin charging. To stop a charge session, open the Shell Recharge app on your mobile device, tap "stop charging" and disconnect the charge point's cable from your vehicle.

How much does IONITY Cost?

You can find Ionity's latest pricing on our Cost to Charge tool or via our website.

Other methods of paying

Drivers using Electroverse will be charged the same rate per kWh as IONITY DIRECT. Shell Recharge on the other hand charges slightly more at 72p per kWh excluding Shell's 35p transaction fee.

Alternatively, you can use an RFID card or app from a Mobility Service Provider (MSP) however please check whether IONITY sites are shown in the locations provided by the MSP before beginning a charge session. Remember, the RFID card needs to be activated before use.

How fast does IONITY charge?

IONITY chargers can deliver up to 350kW of power, which could juice up your electric vehicle in ten to 15 minutes. All-electric vehicles equipped with the Combined Charging System (CCS) will automatically charge at the fastest rate their batteries can safely handle.

IONITY converts AC power into DC power to charge an electric car battery using 'industrially robust electronics' before transmitting straight to the electric vehicle's battery at 'full velocity'.