PTI – The charging station of the Volkswagen brand Elli has a unique battery storage system that enables connection to a low-voltage grid. Thanks to this new technology, the charging stations can be installed easily and flexibly, and the grid expansion can be accelerated. Following a successful test operation, Shell and Volkswagen also plan to install the Flexpole charging station at other locations in Germany and Europe, the companies said.
Shell Germany and the Volkswagen Group are jointly driving forward the expansion of the charging infrastructure for electric mobility: On Thursday, the first innovative 150 kW Elli Flexpole charging station was put in operation at a Shell service station in Göttingen.
The charging station of the Volkswagen brand Elli has a unique battery storage system that enables connection to a low-voltage grid. Thanks to this new technology, the charging stations can be installed easily and flexibly, and the grid expansion can be accelerated. Following a successful test operation, Shell and Volkswagen also plan to install the Flexpole charging station at other locations in Germany and Europe, the companies said in a media release.
Tobias Bahnsen, Head of Shell E-Mobility responsible for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, said, “With VW’s Elli Flexpole charging stations, we can make an important contribution to the necessary expansion of the charging infrastructure. And in locations where it would be otherwise difficult for fast charging, we want to enable customers to switch to electric vehicles and thus reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector.”
Simon Löffler, Chief Commercial Officer at Elli, said, “The rapid expansion of the charging infrastructure is a prerequisite for the success of e-mobility. Elli Flexpole can be set up almost anywhere without major construction work, making it ideal for quickly setting up fast-charging options.”
The German government has set itself the goal of having at least one million charging points available to drivers of electric cars by 2030. According to the Federal Network Agency, the number of charging points rose significantly last year by around 21,000 to a total of over 80,000. Of these, around 67,000 are standard charging points and around 13,000 are fast charging points. A faster expansion of the charging infrastructure is delayed due the need of special transformers with currently long delivery times. In addition, around 900 German distribution system operators have different requirements for the transformers, the release said.
One of the main obstacles to growth might be removed with the Elli Flexpole solution. The integrated battery system allows the Flexpole chargers to be connected directly to the low- voltage grid without the need for a separate transformer or expensive building work. The installation time is thereby drastically decreased. Flexpole charging stations allow for simultaneous charging at up to 150 kW. Depending on the car, a 10-minute charge can extend the range to 160 km.Worldwide, Shell aims to install over 500,000 charging points by 2025 and 2,500,000 by 2030, the release added.
