“When expanding the charging infrastructure, the focus should not be on quantity but on quality,” indicates Linda Boll, Country Manager of Fastned Germany, to Mobility Portal Europe.
Recently, the company won the Deutschlandnetz (German network) tender.
With it, the federal government guarantees a comprehensive fast-charging network designed to be easily accessible and tailored to needs.
This network will consist of over 1,000 locations with approximately 9,000 fast-charging points.
These will be added to the current figure of 106,906 publicly installed points in the national territory, with the goal of reaching one million by 2030.
In order to achieve this objective, industry experts contend that it would be imperative to triple the rate of expansion.
However, as a positive aspect, the German network will enable the coverage of those regions currently lacking a developed infrastructure.
In this regard, its implementation will close the current gaps in the charging map, known as “white spots,” ensuring that anywhere in Germany a fast-charging point can be accessed in just a few minutes.
The Federal Ministry of Digitality and Transport (BMDV) and Autobahn GmbH are responsible for ensuring the fulfillment of this ambitious project.
Through tenders, they have allocated 900 regional locations and 200 on highways for the construction and operation of High Power Charging (HPC) infrastructures.
This award gives Fastned the opportunity to install fast-charging stations at 34 unmanned highway service areas, mainly in the northern part of the country.
“We are proud to have been selected as partners by the German government and Autobahn GmbH, and we expressly welcome the tender,” expresses the Country Manager.
This collaboration will allow the company to install stations directly on German highways for the first time.
In this way, it will play an active role in the development of a demand-oriented national fast-charging infrastructure in Germany, fostering competition on the highways.
However, the tender winners are limited in installing catering or commercial services in unmanned rest areas, as well as improving existing sanitary facilities.
In this regard, Boll points out: “We see the danger here that real competition with Tank & Rast service stations will be made more difficult, as drivers understandably want to be able to get a snack or a coffee and use a clean toilet when refuelling or charging.”
Therefore, they hope to engage in a dialogue with the Federal Ministry and Autobahn GmbH to make improvements and provide their customers with the best possible charging experience.
In other words, they seek the possibility of expanding their fast-charging offering by incorporating quality catering services, shops, and sanitary facilities.
“In our opinion, this is the only way to create real competition,” she emphasizes.
The tender framework clearly outlines how the infrastructure on highways should be configured.
Stations cannot follow a drive-through concept, and the roof construction is specified by the project authorities.
As a result, the design of Fastned stations will differ considerably from their conventional models.
Despite this, they will not compromise on the core element of their stations, the charging technology, and will offer the highest quality standards, focused on the comfort and well-being of drivers.
They will install ultra-fast chargers of 400 kilowatts capable of charging electric vehicles in 15 minutes, providing them with a range of up to 300 kilometers, depending on the car type.
“We are planning to open the first locations in 2025,” reveals Boll.
This is not the first tender awarded to Fastned
In September 2023, the company won two regional lots during the initial phase of the “Deutschlandnetz” tender.
This victory gives them the opportunity to implement fast-charging stations in 92 search areas away from the motorway in western and south-western of the country.
The first station derived from this project was already inaugurated in Düren (North Rhine-Westphalia) last December.
“We believe it is more important to prioritise quality over quantity and to focus the expansion of the infrastructure on promising locations,” emphasizes Boll.
Currently, Fastned has around 37 operational fast-charging stations in Germany and plans to continue expanding its network both in the country and in Europe in the coming years.
Their proposal to accelerate the transition to electromobility includes the construction of 1,000 fast-charging stations across the continent by 2030.
In this regard, Linda Boll emphasizes: “There is still a lot of educational work to be done here and we are happy to assist all interested parties as a competent partner in order to jointly accelerate the ramp-up of the transition.”
