Following the opening of Ladepark Kreuz Hilden, one of the largest charging hubs for Tesla and Fastned in Europe, we spoke with Michiel Langezaal. The CEO and co-founder of Fastned laid out plans and explained current limitations.

Shortly after Ford announced that the Mustang Mach-E GT would also be available in Europe from the end of 2021, Ford also announced the charging rate at Ionity charging stations and the wall box partners for Europe.

Fastned and Tesla have opened the ‘Ladepark Kreuz Hilden’ last night. Equipped with 20 superchargers and eight Fastned charging stations, it will be one of the largest charge parks for each of the two companies in its final stage. Our reporter Sebastian Schaal was at the opening.

The EU project NEXT-E with 252 fast-charging stations will soon be connected to Hubject’s eRoaming platform Intercharge. This involves 222 fast chargers with 50 kW and 30 HPC stations with 150 to 350 kW charging capacity in seven Eastern European countries.

ABB has officially entered into a charging infrastructure partnership with Lion Electric. ABB will make its complete portfolio of charging solutions available to the Canadian electric commercial vehicle manufacturer for distribution in North America under the new Lion Energy division.

The European offices of Hyundai and Kia, together with Digital Charging Solutions (DCS) are launching a new charging service for electric car drivers under the labels Charge myHyundai and KiaCharge. The service will be rolled out across various markets in Europe.

Ford has announced that the Mustang Mach-E GT will also be available in Europe from the end of 2021. Ford is not yet quoting prices for the top model of the electric SUV, but new performance data has been revealed. There will also be a special charging offer for customers in Europe.

Long before the US market launch of the ID.4, Volkswagen announced a special charging offer for its customers there. Those driving a Volkswagen ID.4 in the USA will be able to make use of unlimited charging for three years at Electrify America’s DC stations at no additional cost.

Porsche is using a mobile charging system in the form of a truck trailer that allows ultra-rapid charging at Taycan presentations across the world. Made by battery storage specialist ADS-TEC Energy, the system delivers up to 320 kWh in any weather, real-life use shows.

Electrify America has now introduced a new pricing structure as the US subsidiary from Volkswagen now offers kWh pricing in some states in the US. The charging infrastructure company has also eliminated all session fees.

The joint venture Smatrics mobility+, founded by EnBW and Smatrics, is now starting its operations following the approval of the cartel authorities in Germany and Austria. The new company intends to operate the largest charging network in Austria and, above all, expand the number of high-performance chargers.

Germany apparently wants to use its EU Council Presidency to promote e-mobility. In addition to the mandatory construction of hydrogen filling stations, fast-charging stations and a uniform payment system will also be promoted.

Hubject has selected Enel X Financial Services, a subsidiary of Enel X, to provide financial services for payments between charging point operators (CPOs) and e-mobility service providers  (EMPs) on its Intercharge eRoaming platform.

The start-up &Charge is the latest spin-off from Porsche Digital and expands their electric transport portfolio. The new company with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main offers the first loyalty program for e-mobility in Europe.

Electrify America has announced a deal with Love’s Travel Stops, an American chain of service stations, to install ultra-fast charging stations at seven locations in six states across the US.

Starting in October, there will be numerous innovations for the Porsche Taycan at the change of the model year. The new Plug & Charge function allows for automated charging and payment without a card or app. Other innovations include Functions on Demand, FoD, and faster acceleration.

Speaking at the ACT virtual conference, Tritium CEO Jane Hunter presented the RT 175-S fast charger with 175 kW power capability. Tritium’s RT 175-S will be the first charger on the US market capable of Plug and Charge vehicle-to-charger communication. 

The English city of Birmingham has announced the establishment of 394 quick charge points to support the electrification of the taxi fleet. The fast chargers, which are to be installed in Birmingham starting this autumn over the next two years, will not only be accessible to taxis, but also to the public and local businesses.

Tesla has reduced the price for the CCS upgrade of the Model S and Model X for V3 superchargers in Europe from 500 to 299 euros. The new price was negotiated by European Tesla clubs.

A number of users complain that Tesla has apparently reduced the maximum charging power on most 2nd generation superchargers in Europe from 150 kW to 120 kW.

The Japanese company e-Mobility Power (eMP) has ordered 250 units of the recently introduced Terra 184 rapid-charging station. With these, eMP primarily intends to replace existing slower charging columns.

General Motors is cooperating with EVgo to expand the US fast-charging network by 2,700 additional stations over the next five years. The stations will have capacities from 100 kW and up to 350 kW, the first of which will be available to customers by early 2021.

In the UK, Swarco eVolt is installing 14 rapid chargers to sites in Kent for registered taxis and private hire vehicles, The chargers should support the local authority’s clean strategy and further encourage the uptake of electric vehicles.

In this interview, Giovanni Bertolino, who is responsible for e-mobility at Enel X North America, describes the company’s overseas strategy that differs from the European approach in several ways.

The mineral oil company Aral has announced that it intends to set up more than 100 fast-charging points at its German filling stations within the next twelve months. The expansion is to continue as the oil giant’s long-term planning envisages “several hundred locations”.

The Swiss technology group ABB has begun construction of a new production facility for charging infrastructure in the Italian municipality of San Giovanni Valdarno in Tuscany. The 16,000-square-meter facility is expected to go into operation at the end of 2021.

Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA) opened a 50-space charging station at its Arizona Proving Grounds to help the company test battery and charging performance in scorching weather. VWGoA says it is “one of the most extensive EV charging stations”.

Spanish energy supplier Iberdrola has opened another fast-charging site on one of the main corridors of the Iberian Peninsula. The new site is part of the company’s plan to install 150,000 charge points in Southern Europe.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids has presented Grid-eMotion Fleet, a ‘grid-to-plug’ charging system for electric buses with a system-based approach. The solution has been developed to charge more vehicles with less infrastructure.

Delta Electronics has just presented its new HPC station for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As the name UFC 200 suggests, the station enables a maximum charging power of 200 kW that can be split into two 100 kW to charge two electric cars at the same time.