Nuremberg If you want to find the ugliest corners of Europe with confidence, it is best to go on a long trip in an electric car: the traveler is guaranteed to get to know and fear backyards on the outskirts of the city, desolate industrial areas and the darkest corners of truck stops in rural nowhere The charging station shows all too often that the publicly accessible infrastructure holds a stream of gloomy experiences in store, especially for frequent drivers. It’s not premium at the moment – and Tesla has recognized this for a long time: That’s why the Americans have set up a network of so-called superchargers with the sale of their Stromer. Chic styled fast chargers, exclusively for customers at traffic hubs.
There are currently around 2,000 of them in Europe alone. Only mostly in a rather barren environment; The bread roll you have brought with you and your cell phone are the only pastimes when charging – and when it rains, it is not uncommon for a free shower to be included when it is plugged in. Nevertheless: Learning from Tesla means learning to win – especially if you do it better: That is an incentive for Ralph Hollmig.
The result of the work of the Audi project manager on this goal can be seen a few days before Christmas at the Nuremberg Exhibition Center. The manufacturer will open its first “charging hub” there on December 23rd. Two minutes away from the A73, the subway in front of the door, a new residential area across the street and a park around the corner – “that’s the ideal location for us,” says Hollmig.
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Because Audi is targeting the urban environment with its fast-charging solution – the sister brand Porsche is to develop a concept for those who are in a hurry through on long journeys. The Audi hub looks like a mixture of a covered charging station and lounge on the upper floor. This is exactly what should inspire customers.
Full again quickly
All covered and well-lit charging points provide users with up to 300 kW of power.
Welcome to the economy
Those who want to use the fast charger with Hyundai, Ford, Mercedes, Dacia or BMW only have a small, barren room with snack and coffee machines, a hard bench and toilet access.
“This should not only offer a solution for future peak demands, but also turn charging into an actively used lifetime,” says Hollmig. In the 20 or 30 minutes that the average visitor stops there, they can open the door on the first floor and take a break after entering a password that shows them the charging station.
However, very similar to some airports in economy or business class: Those who want to use the fast charger with Hyundai, Ford, Mercedes, Dacia or BMW only have a small, barren room with snack and coffee machines, hard seats and toilet access Disposal.
The Audi lounge, which is four times the size, with a balcony, sofas and a work area, is only accessible to those who arrive with an Ingolstadt-based car. And only he can reserve one of the six pillars for charging in advance, which is then blocked for him shortly beforehand with a fold-out barrier.
There is no two-tier society when it comes to the charging speed of the batteries: All covered and well-lit charging points provide users with up to 300 kW of power. Charging an Audi e-tron GT from five to 80 percent is done under ideal conditions in around 23 minutes. If you use Audi’s own etron charging card, you initially only pay 31 cents per kilowatt hour in the pilot phase. The Audi employees have not yet communicated the prices for third-party customers.
By the way, customers do not have to fear that the pillars connected to one another in the energy management system run out of juice when there is a large crowd – even though the charging hub is only connected to a standard 400-volt high-voltage connection. The trick is behind the black walls on the first floor: so-called cubes serve as the basis for the station.
The flexible container cubes, on the front of which are the extendable charging stations, house used lithium-ion batteries from Audi test vehicles as power storage devices. They are a buffer storage for direct current – and thus five times the total output of the station to 960 kW charging capacity. The public network practically “only lets green electricity trickle in continuously, as it is needed in the Cube,” explains Hollmig.
More peace and quiet, more comfort
The Audi lounge, which is four times the size, with a balcony, sofas and a work area, is only accessible to those who arrive with an Ingolstadt-based car.
Attention, reserved
Only Audi drivers can reserve one of the six charging columns in advance, which is then blocked shortly beforehand with a fold-out barrier.
An output of 11 kW per cube is sufficient to continuously fill the storage modules with a total capacity of 2.45 megawatt hours and to be able to charge them overnight. Solar cells on the roof also help with recharging. Because the station does not need a high-voltage line or transformers, the approval and construction is much faster and easier. In a month’s time, a new hub will be where Hollmig needs it.
The project manager just doesn’t know exactly where that will be: “In the next three months we’ll be testing the concept for the time being.” How many electric cars are coming? Which brands? When? Do the visitors use the lounge, the car wash, test drives or the e-scooter rental at the hub? There are still a lot of questions that Hollmig does not know the answers to.
The success of the Nuremberg trial will also depend on whether Audi will place its charging hubs close to the city throughout Europe. The Handelsblatt recently speculated about up to 300 stations of different sizes – possibly in cooperation with a mineral oil company or the Ionity network. The Volkswagen Group could also operate the hubs on its own, primarily for the customers of its brands. Shops and lounges could soon become commonplace in almost every big city.
The Ingolstadt-based company and its corporate allies shouldn’t hesitate too long anyway: electric arch-rival Tesla has very similar plans. The well-attended supercharger stations are also to become cozy electric lounges. The Model S, 3 or Y then charge there by a solar roof protected from downpours. In the meantime, customers can buy food and drink for cash. In the future, a completely different question could have a say in the choice of car: Where does it taste better when charging – and who is hosting the nicer show?
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