Northern Germany's Largest Electric Vehicle Charging Station Opens

E-mobility is growing thanks to a robust infrastructure—in public spaces, at home, and at work. As a driving force behind the mobility transition, enercity is once again setting new standards and has opened what it claims is Northern Germany’s largest charging park, featuring 90 charging points. Starting immediately, 84 new parking spaces for standard charging (22 kW each) and six for fast charging (150 kW each) are available to residents in Hannover’s List district. enercity has invested approximately 1.8 million euros in this project. With this charging park, the company is further expanding its commitment to e-mobility. The goal is to increase the number of its own charging points from 3,500 to over 4,500 by the end of the year, including more than 500 public ones in Hannover. “Expanding the charging infrastructure is crucial for the transportation transition and for a climate-neutral city. The new charging park in List is another significant step in this direction,” says Hannover’s Mayor Belit Onay. “We have entered an era in which fuel costs for gasoline-powered cars are significantly higher than for electric cars—currently nearly twice as expensive. This will soon lead to even greater momentum in the adoption of electric vehicles. “With this new flagship location right in the heart of residential and commercial areas, we’re making Hannover’s charging network even more comprehensive so we’re well prepared for this shift,” says enercity CEO Dr. Susanna Zapreva.

Collaborative Project Development

The charging hub was created through a partnership between enercity and Bauforum Hannover GmbH, the project developer behind the “Bunker B58” construction project. For this sustainably designed office building—which features modern workspaces within a former air-raid shelter—enercity is providing electric charging stations on the adjacent site exclusively for the project’s tenants. On the approximately 3,200-square-meter charging site, the project developer has leased 60 parking spaces for 30 years for the “Digital Campus” co-working space being built there. An additional ten parking spaces are allocated to the insurance company VHV for its neighboring office location. While at the office, employees can conveniently charge their electric vehicles at standard charging stations. A compact-class electric car requires just over 45 minutes of charging time for a range of approximately 100 kilometers. Short-term visitors can charge their car at fast-charging stations in about seven minutes for a range of 100 kilometers.

Charging Station as a Contracting Service

About 80 percent of charging takes place at work or at home. enercity therefore offers its parking and charging spaces as a contracting model in office settings: Customers enjoy climate-friendly driving with their electric cars, while the energy service provider handles the financing, operation, maintenance, and billing of the charging electricity. With the charging park, the company is taking things to a new level. enercity demonstrates its ability to design, build, and operate large-scale charging infrastructure projects—a lucrative business model for companies nationwide.

(Published on July 5, 2022)