Page 13 - UTILITIES
P. 13

A32    FEATURE
                     Tuesday 15 May 2018

            Race is on to set up Europe's electric car charging network



            By DAVID McHUGH                                                                                                     hicle.  The  58-year-old  Ber-
            AP Business Writer                                                                                                  lin geography teacher is a
            MUNICH  (AP)  —  Charging                                                                                           proud owner of a Mitsubishi
            an  electric  car  away  from                                                                                       Outlander,  a  plug-in  hy-
            home  can  be  an  exercise                                                                                         brid that combines internal
            in  uncertainty  —  hunting                                                                                         combustion  with  a  battery
            for  that  one  lonely  station                                                                                     he  can  charge  overnight.
            at the back of a rest-area                                                                                          The  battery-only  range  of
            parking  lot  and  hoping  it's                                                                                     50 kilometers (30 miles) lets
            working.                                                                                                            him drive emissions free for
            In Europe, some of the big-                                                                                         daily trips at home.
            gest  automakers  are  out                                                                                          But  a  family  vacation  of
            to  remove  such  anxieties                                                                                         more  than  200  kilometers
            from  the  battery-only  driv-                                                                                      (120 miles) to the Baltic Sea
            ing  experience  and  en-                                                                                           was a different story.
            courage     electric-vehicle                                                                                        Hoedt  had  to  drive  on  in-
            sales by building a highway                                                                                         ternal  combustion  before
            network  of  fast  charging                                                                                         finding a lone charging sta-
            stations.  The  idea  is  to  let                                                                                   tion as he approached his
            drivers  plug  in,  charge  in                                                                                      destination,  using  the  go-
            minutes  instead  of  hours,                                                                                        ingelectric.de website.
            and speed off on their way                                                                                          "It was right next to the high-
            — from Norway to southern                                                                                           way, there was one charg-
            Italy  and  Portugal  to  Po-                                                                                       ing  station  and  we  were
            land.                                                                                                               lucky  that  it  was  free,"  he
            Much is at stake for the au-  In this Friday, May 11, 2018 photo a Ionity charging station sits at the rest stop Brohltal Ost at the   said. But he couldn't find a
            tomakers,  which  include    A61 motorway in Niederzissen, Germany.                                                 charging  station  he  could
            Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler                                                                          Assoiciated Press  use by the seashore.
            and  Ford.  Their  joint  ven-                                                                                      On the way  back, he was
            ture,  Munich-based  Ion-    Associated  Press  in  an  in-  said, speaking at  the com-  into the next industrial area  able  to  charge  at  a  rest
            ity,  is  pushing  to  roll  out  its  terview  he's  "confident"  pany's  Munich  headquar-  and  finding  a  charging  stop,  but  only  by  asking
            network  in  time  to  service  the company will reach its  ters near the 1972 Olympic  station  somewhere,  with-  a  non-electric  car  owner
            the  next  generation  of  goal of 400 ultra-fast charg-  stadium.                     out  light,  or  any  amenities  to  move  his  vehicle  away
            battery-only  cars  coming  ing  stations  averaging  six  The idea is to break electric  around, but right at the au-  from  the  lone  charging
            on the market starting next  charging  places  each  by  cars out of the early adopt-  tobahn."                     pole.  A  battery-only  car
            year. They're aiming to win  2020.                        er niche, in which they are  "If  you're  going  from  Ham-  might never have made it
            back  some  of  the  market  The  idea  is  "to  be  able  to  charged  slowly  overnight  burg  to  Munich,  because  home.
            share for electric luxury car  drive  long  distances  with  at home and used for short  it's  a  weekend  trip  to  And  he  couldn't  use  one
            sales lost to Tesla, which has  battery  electric  vehicles,  commutes.                friends, typically you do not  to  visit  his  cousin  650  kilo-
                                                                                                   have  much  time,"  he  said.  meters (400 miles) away in
                                                                                                   So what counts will be "the  Rosenheim.
                                                                                                   speed  of  recharging  your  "I  looked  at  the  option...
                                                                                                   vehicles,  and  at  the  same  The  infrastructure  is  still  so
                                                                                                   time  finding  maybe  some  bad,  I  just  don't  want  to
                                                                                                   amenities:  maybe  a  cof-   risk that I get stranded," he
                                                                                                   fee,  getting  a  newspaper  said.  "Once  the  infrastruc-
                                                                                                   or whatever."                ture gets better, that might
                                                                                                   Ionity opened its first station  be my next car."
                                                                                                   April 17 at a rest stop off the  Tesla   has   shown   how
                                                                                                   A61 highway near the small  charging infrastructure can
                                                                                                   town of Niederzissen,  50 ki-  drive  vehicle  sales.  It  has
                                                                                                   lometers (30 miles) south of  1,229 stations with 9,623 fast
                                                                                                   Bonn  in  western  Germany.  chargers  in  Europe  alone,
                                                                                                   The six high-speed chargers  where  it  has  cut  into  Mer-
                                                                                                   are operating in "welcome  cedes  and  BMW's  sales  of
                                                                                                   mode,"  meaning  they're  luxury cars. But it has its own
                                                                                                   free until May 31. After that,  proprietary plug. Ionity is us-
                                                                                                   Ionity  plans  to  charge  for  ing  the  CCS  plug  backed
                                                                                                   the  power,  which  it  seeks  by  the  European  Union  as
                                                                                                   to  obtain  from  renewable  a common standard for all.
                                                                                                   sources.                     In both the U.S. and Europe,
                                                                                                   Ionity  has  agreements  for  the situation is roughly simi-
                                                                                                   some 300 sites, working with  lar:    More  chargers  avail-
            In this Friday, May 11, 2018 photo a man charges his BMW electric vehicle at the rest stop Brohltal   fueling station and rest stop  able  in  jurisdictions  where
            Ost at the A61 motorway in Niederzissen, Germany.                                      landlords. The average dis-  government strongly backs
                                                                                                   tance between stations will  electric  vehicles,  such  as
                                                                                                   be 120 kilometers (75 miles).  California,  Norway  or  the
            its  own,  proprietary  fast-  across Europe and to have  "The sites we are looking for  More  charging  availability  Netherlands.   Elsewhere,
            charging network.            the  same  experience  at  are  really  the  A-sites,"  he  is what it will take to get an  chargers  get  can  harder
            Despite  a  slower-than-ex-  each  station,  meaning  a  said,  "directly  at  the  auto-  environmentally aware car  to  find  for  long  stretches
            pected  start,  Ionity  CEO  very easy and comfortable  bahn. Not down the road,  buyer  like  Rainer  Hoedt  to  along rural highways.
            Michael  Hajesch  told  The  customer journey," Hajesch  not  driving  five  kilometers  choose  a  battery-only  ve-  q
   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18