2017-11-03 09:55
Four of the world’s largest car companies – BMW, Mercedes, Ford and the Volkswagen Group – have united to establish a new network of fast charging stations for electric vehicles across Europe.
The plan, which is being rolled out by a new organisation dubbed IONITY, is already underway, and is beginning with the opening of 20 stations in 2017 across Germany, Norway and Austria.
The chargers will be spaced at intervals of 75 miles, which IONITY chiefs say will provide customers “with fast charging and digital payment capability, to facilitate long-distance travel”.
By early 2018 the group will have installed 50 charging stations – a number that will rise to 100 during the year. By 2020, IONITY will have established 400 charging stations across Europe. There are currently just under 5,000 charging stations in England alone.
The IONITY network will offer charging speeds of “up to” 350 kiloWatts (kW), allowing owners of electric vehicles the to “significantly reduce charging times compared to existing systems.” For comparison, a domestic three-pin plug charges at around 3kW and takes around 12 hours to recharge an electric car, while Tesla’s rapid Supercharger network operates at 120kW and can give a Model S’ batteries an 80 per cent charge in around 40 minutes.
By utilising the same CCS (Combined Charging System) connector throughout the network, the establishment of IONITY bolster’s this type of connector’s chances of becoming the de facto connector for charging electric vehicles, in a marketplace that commonly uses at least four different types of connector at present.
Do you think more car manufacturers should join forces to help the charging network? Let us know below...
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