Volkswagen establishes fast-charging park in Saxony

Last week, Volkswagen established the first fast-charging park in Saxony. According to the German automotive brand, this fast-charging park uses a power storage container (PSC) that is made up of 96 cell modules with a net capacity of 570kWh.

All cell modules in the PSC were formerly installed as batteries in pre-production models of the ID.3 and ID.4 and have now been given a second purpose.

“Reusing batteries is important for the future and it’s closely linked to the acceleration in the trend toward electric mobility. With the power storage container, Volkswagen Sachsen is demonstrating a practical, cost-effective and useful case to enable cell modules at the end of their service lives to have a second life. This automotive power bank could be used wherever the capacity of the grid connection is too low but there is demand for powerful charging infrastructure. Innovative ideas like this could provide renewed impetus for the critical buildup of fast-charging infrastructure,” said Volkswagen Sachsen Managing Director for Finance and Controlling Karen Kutzner.

In addition, VW’s fast-charging facilities can be a cost-effective alternative to a transformer station since it enables large quantities of energy to be provided in a short time without overburdening the electricity grid.

In addition, the temporary storage of energy allows for high basic costs that would otherwise be incurred during standby operation, even when no vehicles are charging, to be avoided.

These fast-charging infrastructures, per the Wolfsburg-based brand, can be built nearly anywhere, even in places with a low-capacity grid connection.

The charging park at the west gate of the Zwickau plant is made up of four charging stations, each with an output of 150kW, which can also be divided into two outputs of 75kW. This means that up to eight vehicles can charge at the same time.

In line with the automaker’s carbon-neutral goals, the electricity used in the said fast-charging park comes from the adjacent photovoltaic installation, among other sources.

Three fast-charging parks will be in operation on the plant grounds by the end of the year.

Photos from Volkswagen

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