Europeans will soon have the opportunity to enjoy quiet, emission-free, long-distance motoring with far shorter charge times when driving electric cars along Germany's autobahns.
The charging network Allego has rolled out its first 175-kilowatt ultra-fast charging stations—dubbed "Ultra E"—at its first location in Kleinosthei, along the A3 motorway near Frankfurt.
The four fast-charging stations represent the first ultra-fast chargers publicly available in Europe, and Allego plans to upgrade half of them to 350-kilowatt service later this year.
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The company plans to roll out numerous ultra-fast charging stations along a corridor of highway connecting the Dutch coast to the Austrian border starting this summer.
The station locations will be installed 150 to 200 kilometers (95 to 125 miles) apart along the corridor, as described in a summary by ChargedEVs.
“The ultra-fast charging stations are designed to accommodate many current and future types of e-car,” said Allego COO Ulf Schulte.
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“They are particularly suited to the new long range e-cars that will be available from 2018," he said.
"Interoperability comes as standard at Allego. We support all the current charging cards and access apps, enabling anyone to charge their e-car at Allego and quickly be on their way.”
The Ultra-E project is supported by Allego, local utilities, auto manufacturers, and suppliers.
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Still, Allego won't be without competition.
Earlier this year, a consortium of automakers announced they would launch a charging network called Ionity with the goal of installing about 400 charging stations across Europe, some ultimately offering 350-kilowatt charging.
This summer, Porsche installed a prototype 350 kilowatt, 800-volt charging station at its new branch office in Berlin.
The Allego network was founded in September 2013, and currently operates some 250 charging stations offering 50-kw service in Europe.
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