energy transition
Energy supplier EnBW is building a mega-charging park for electric cars – it should be the largest in Europe
At the mega charging park, 52 electric cars should be able to fill up with electricity at the same time
© EnBW
The energy supplier EnBW wants to open a mega charging park for electric cars in Germany. It should be the largest loading point in Europe. The e-filling station advertises with pure green electricity and with fast chargers.
The Karlsruhe energy company EnBW has a mission: to equip Germany with charging stations for electric cars. To this end, the company is currently implementing an extensive project and is building a mega charging park at the Kamen motorway junction in North Rhine-Westphalia. EnBW is installing 52 HPC charging stations (High Power Charger) there, i.e. fast charging stations with a charging capacity of up to 300 kilowatts.
Depending on the electric car, a five-minute charge should allow electricity to flow into the battery for a range of up to 100 kilometers. Vehicles that do not have a quick charge function should be able to charge at two integrated AC charging points. Depending on the tariff, the prices for AC charging are between 36 and 45 cents per kilowatt hour and between 46 and 55 cents per kilowatt hour for fast charging.
The electricity offered should be exclusively green electricity. A photovoltaic system with an output of up to 120 gigawatts, which is to be installed on the roof of the e-filling station, is to provide the corresponding energy. Unused energy should be fed into the power grid. In addition, EnBW wants to make toilets available to its customers. A food truck should be on the premises at peak times.
Imbalance between electric cars and charging stations
EnBW has further plans. The energy company is building targeted fast charging stations and obviously wants to cover the needs of the charging stations in Germany. According to calculations by the National Charging Infrastructure Control Center, 440,000 publicly accessible points will be required in 2030. For comparison: at the beginning of October 48,084 charging points were registered with the Federal Network Agency, of which only 6845 enable fast charging with over 22 kilowatts of power. In addition, the quick charging points are very unevenly distributed in the various federal states: 1209 in Bavaria, 974 in North Rhine-Westphalia and 80 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In order to change the situation, the Ministry of Transport for Construction and Operation is putting out tenders for around 1,000 fast charging stations by 2023.
EnBW announces thousands of fast chargers
According to its own information, EnBW currently operates the largest fast-charging network in Germany with over 650 fast-charging locations. Last week, on Monday, the energy supplier announced that it wants to work with the Rewe Group to build hundreds of charging stations in front of supermarket branches using only green electricity. The planning of the first 100 or so fast charging locations at Rewe and Penny is due to take place this year. These should then be available to customers in 2022. In the coming years, the companies want to build hundreds more charging stations.
And in the future, EnBW wants to build smaller charging parks every 40 to 50 kilometers and larger charging parks every 200 kilometers. By 2025, the network of the Karlsruhe energy company is to grow to 2,500 fast-charging locations throughout Germany. The charging options for drivers of electric cars should increase significantly. At the beginning of December, the charging park at Kamener Kreuz is to be opened.
Sources: EnBW, EnBW press release, WirtschaftsWoche