Wolfsburg - As the world gears up for the age of the electric car and all the required infrastructure that goes along with it, Volkswagen is thinking beyond the traditional charging station.
Enter the 'mobile quick charging station', which is Volkswagen’s idea of a power bank for electric cars, a temporary charging point that could come in handy at events, as well as public parking lots and company premises where quick-charging stations have not yet been installed.
The mobile quick charging station is set to become a reality, first as a pilot project in Volkswagen’s home town of Wolfsburg in 2019, before being rolled out to other cities from 2020 onwards.
The automotive power bank has a charging capacity of up to 360 kWh, which would allow it to charge up to 15 electric vehicles, with charges taking just 17 minutes per car.
Volkswagen Components CEO Thomas Schmall refers to it as a “completely new approach for the construction and expansion of the charging network.
“They can be set up anywhere as required - with or without connection to the power supply. This flexibility enables a completely new approach for the rapid expansion of the charging infrastructure. Cities can, for example, find out the most suitable places for a permanent charging point before making major investments in developing the network.”
The mobile charging stations offer a further advantage, says Technical Development head Mark Möller:
“Our charging station is the first to offer the possibility of temporarily storing sustainably generated power. For example, the charging station can be charged specifically with solar or wind energy, which is then transmitted to the electric vehicles during charging.”