The official launch of the charging park project for electric lorries and buses took place a few days ago at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Dr Markus Söder, Bavarian Minister President, Christian Bernreiter, Bavarian State Minister for Housing, Construction and Transport, Jan-Christian Dreesen, CEO of FC Bayern München AG, Michael Diederich, Deputy CEO of FC Bayern München AG, Alexander Vlaskamp, CEO of MAN Truck & Bus, and Frederik Zohm, Chief Development Officer of MAN Truck & Bus, were all present.
High-power and megawatt charging points are to be built in three planned expansion stages on the southern bus car park of the Allianz Arena.
A total of 30 charging points are planned. This will allow up to 500 electric buses and lorries to be charged every day.
Large football stadiums such as the Allianz Arena have a very powerful electricity grid due to their high electricity requirements for floodlights, catering operations and other consumers, which is only fully utilised on match days.
FC Bayern Munich and its long-standing sponsoring partner MAN Truck & Bus found the ideal conditions for setting up a commercial vehicle charging park and agreed on a corresponding project.
Especially as the 100 per cent use of green electricity in the Allianz Arena makes the project even more climate-friendly..
The Allianz Arena is located directly at the busy Munich North motorway junction with its own motorway access: Up to 10,000 lorries a day pass through this important junction for European road freight traffic. An ideal location for the charging park.
And FC Bayern will also need charging infrastructure for its own fleet in the future: MAN will deliver the first all-electric coach to FC Bayern as a team bus in the 2025/26 season.
Dreesen, CEO of FC Bayern, says: “For us, the public charging park for commercial vehicles is a continuation of our sustainability efforts to manage the Allianz Arena in an increasingly climate-friendly way.”
Diederich, Deputy CEO of FC Bayern, adds: “This project is of great importance to us, and I can think of no better partner than MAN to successfully realise it. Two strong companies from Bavaria are driving into the future in innovative ways and making an important contribution to electrification and climate neutrality in coach and truck transport.”
MAN Transport Solutions, MAN’s in-house consultancy for the switch to zero-emission vehicles, was deeply involved in the project.
The consultants are supporting the planning and implementation of the public megawatt charging park.
MAN Transport Solutions has been advising transport companies on the energy-efficient use of their vehicle fleets, electromobility and charging infrastructure since 2018.
What began in the city bus sector, where the electrification of vehicle fleets is already firmly anchored in the market, the consulting expertise is now also benefiting the market launch of MAN’s large-series electric truck.
“Half of the trucks we produce each year should be electric by 2030. The charging infrastructure is the key to this. As a manufacturer, we are leading the way ourselves by setting up a public charging network in Europe at our service locations together with E.ON. But that alone is not enough,” explains Vlaskamp.
He adds: “That’s why we are very grateful for fresh ideas and joint projects such as the one with FC Bayern. The charging park at the Allianz Arena will be a flagship project. From Bavaria for Bavaria and the world. It will shine far beyond the state’s borders.”
According to estimates by the European manufacturers’ association (ACEA), around 50,000 high-performance and megawatt charging points will be needed along the most important long-distance transport routes across Europe by 2030.
One of these is being built at the Allianz Arena. In future, electric lorries and buses will be able to charge their batteries here.
