Another fast-charging network starts in Europe

Even Tesla fans who shook off the threat to its European Supercharger network from last week’s Ionity fast-charging EV network announcement must be concerned about today’s announcement from E.ON.

While the Ionity network aims to deploy at least 400 of its 350kW chargers across Europe by 2020, E.ON is promising 10,000 fast-chargers for battery-electric cars in the same time frame.

And while Ionity is a team effort from Ford, BMW, the Volkswagen Group and Daimler, E.ON is Europe’s biggest energy company, with comfortable access to every piece of hardware it needs to make it a reality.

It already has enough EV charging points to allow drivers to travel from northern Germany to Bavaria, in the south, but it also has ready-made partnerships with Denmark’s Clever e-mobility organisation.

It has partnered with Tank and Rast (which is also a key player in the Ionity scheme) and plans to deliver 150kW charging (the same as Telsa’s Superchargers), though the charging stations can be upgraded over time to Ionity’s 350kW level.

E.ON claims its network will allow drivers to punch in 400km of EV range within half an hour at one of its charging stations.

It already has 6000 charging stations across Europe, including the United Kingdom, as it tries to get out in front of any potential battery-electric car tipping points in Europe’s car sales patterns.

There are already 120,000 charging points deployed across Europe, though Morgan Stanley analysts predict it will take between one and three million charging points by 2030, depending on EV take-up rates.

Like Ionity, the E.ON network will exclusively use the Combined Charging System plug layout, which Tesla does not use. All of BMW’s i models use the CCS plug, as do Volkswagen’s EV versions of the up! and Golf, while Ford, Mercedes-Benz and smart all plan to roll out EVs using the plug.

To herald its new fast-charging network, E.ON launched the ‘Freedom is Electric’ campaign featuring a collection of unique electric vehicles including a 350km/h superbike and the world’s only electric monster truck.