Audi is setting up more than 4,500 charging points for battery-operated vehicles, thereby contributing to the energy transition in private transport. The company is investing around EUR 100 million in this endeavor.
By the middle of 2022, the premium brand will equip one in ten parking spaces with a possibility to charge electric cars, most of which will be accessible to the public. This independent concept is the largest charging infrastructure project carried out by a German employer. The investment provides Audi with a head start in terms of setup and operation expertise for the hardware and software of such charging concepts while also allowing the company to pilot a new business area of mobility.
At the main plant in Ingolstadt alone, there will be 3,500 charging points available in the final development. There will be 1,000 charging points in Neckarsulm, just under 100 in Brussels and Gy?r. Likewise, charging infrastructure will be built at the factory in San José Chiapa. The company already offers expansive charging capacities at the training centers at Munich Airport. The entire project has a total budget of up to EUR 100 million.
A charging concept on this scale is unique in Germany so far – and requires meticulous preparation and largely independent energy management. A separate project team has therefore been preparing and structuring the concept for the implementation since the middle of 2017. The fundamental decision to electrify ten percent of all parking spaces was already made a year earlier.
The project team is responsible for planning the entire strategy, investment, and concept, and manages the setup and operation of the charging infrastructure as well as the billing of charging procedures at the Audi sites. In this context, the charging points are expanded to suit the needs of the employees and other people using the parking lot, the charging infrastructure is designed accordingly, operating rules are set, and a hotline and support are provided. Recording that complies with calibration law and invoicing of the charging procedures are further important aspects.
In the medium term, it is being checked how to make the acquired expertise available to other companies that need to expand their charging infrastructure. This is the next step on the company’s journey from a pure automotive manufacturer to a mobility service provider. Audi has set itself the goal to become the leading CO2-neutral premium provider. By 2050 at the latest, the company’s operations are to be entirely CO2-neutral.
Source: Press Release
