E.ON Board Member for Customer Solutions Patrick Lammers and Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology Thomas Schmall put in operation the first E.ON Drive Booster in Essen. The innovative product makes fast charging easier and more affordable for operators and customers. As a flexible fast charger, it requires no civil engineering work or adjustments to the grid connection and can charge two electric vehicles simultaneously with 150 kW. This means the expansion of a dense public network of fast-charging stations – as is essential for the future success of e-mobility – can become a reality much sooner than was previously assumed.
The “E.ON Drive Booster” is an electric powerhouse that doesn’t need to draw its power directly from the grid but rather has its own integrated battery storage system. A normal power connection like those found at any supermarket and the internal battery together provide the necessary capacity to charge two electric vehicles simultaneously with up to 150 kW. As a result, it only takes an average of 15 minutes to charge the cars with enough power for a range of around 200 km.
Patrick Lammers, who is responsible for customer solutions on the board at E.ON: “The expansion of e-mobility is an important building block of the energy transition. In order to make electric vehicles more attractive, we need charging stations to be abundant and powerful. After all, around one third of Germans choose not to buy electric vehicles because they believe there are not enough charging stations. I am proud that with the E.ON Drive Booster we have an immediate and attractive offer for businesses and municipalities wanting to set up charging stations without spending a fortune.
The Booster is therefore one of our energy solutions that enables our customers to achieve their sustainability goals. We are the decarbonisation partner for our customers.”
Thomas Schmall, Board Member for Technology at Volkswagen AG and CEO of Volkswagen Group Components, commented: “We are taking the expansion of charging infrastructure into our own hands and aiming to work with strong partners to bring about a fivefold increase in the number of fast chargers in Europe by 2025. Through our collaboration with E.ON, the fast-charging stations developed and produced by Volkswagen Group Components can be put to use. They are ideally suited to support the rapid expansion of charging infrastructure, since the time and costs required for installation are minimal.”
A normal charging column can also be upgraded very easily to the Booster. It is therefore ideal for branching into new locations rapidly and cost-effectively. Installation is easy: Place it, plug it in, configure it online – a “plug-and-play” charging station. There is no need for costly adaptations to infrastructure or civil engineering work. All this makes fast charging easy, affordable and possible anywhere.
