Amadeus Regerbis: Electromobility is an important component of the Energiewende for EnBW and it can be found as a recurring theme throughout our company. Purely electrically powered vehicles have no local emissions and are certainly the most efficient alternative drive technology for private transport.

Jörg Hofmeister: It is extremely important to us that we make our service stations fit for the future and in doing so adapt to the latest developments in mobility. Electromobility – which is growing in significance all the time – is an important theme for us. In close cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Transport and strong partners such as EnBW, we already began to establish the necessary infrastructure some time ago. Our common aim is to make a significant contribution to the breakthrough of electromobility.

Regerbis: It developed from the “SLAM” (fast-charging network for axes and metropolises) project run by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. All the well-known German car manufacturers plus EnBW – as the sole major energy supply company – were involved in the project. However, we didn’t just want to be a project partner but also an investor, and so we got in contact with Tank & Rast to develop the infrastructure where it made sense the most for long journeys, namely the motorways. We then quickly agreed the first 34 sites in Baden-Württemberg with Tank & Rast.

Hofmeister: This fitted in nicely with our plans because we had already decided to develop a network of charging stations offering the best possible coverage at the end of 2014. EnBW was, and remains, the ideal partner for this task because the company has extensive experience and expertise in the development, operation and maintenance of charging infrastructure.

Regerbis: ... and Tank & Rast has now become our partner of choice for achieving nationwide coverage. Electromobility requires a functioning network of charging stations that can be seen and experienced as part of everyday life. It is only in this way that acceptance for this new technology will grow amongst the general public. And the best place to achieve this for long journeys is on the motorways.

Hofmeister: We are united by the common goal of making long-distance e-mobility a reality. And both companies are following this goal with great enthusiasm.

Hofmeister: There is a clear division of responsibilities. We jointly plan the network of charging stations and select the sites. Tank & Rast then makes the necessary space available at the selected sites and EnBW handles the actual installation and operation of the charging stations.

Regerbis: Our colleagues at Tank & Rast know their sites like the back of their hands and understand precisely which locations are best suited for the installation of charging stations. In addition, the company has lots of experience across the entire process – from submitting applications and dealing with the responsible authorities through to ensuring that the requirements with respect to traffic routes, underground construction and logistics are taken into account. This broad range of expertise impressed us from the very beginning and we benefit from it enormously.

Regerbis: Absolutely. We have achieved a lot together and further expanded our partnership. The first 34 charging locations in Baden-Württemberg have now grown into 125 across the whole of Germany. The cooperation between us simply works, we can rely on each other and complement each other perfectly.

Hofmeister: The process now runs like clockwork. As a rule of thumb, we require about 6 months from the planning stage until installation. Considering the level of complexity involved in construction projects in Germany, it must be said that the authorities are very open to the expansion of electromobility.

Hofmeister: The best location is close to the standard refuelling stations. And the ultimate aim for the recharging process is of course to mimic the refuelling process as closely as possible. That means shortening the charging times even further so that drivers can simply pull up to recharge their cars rather than park up.

Hofmeister: We have now been able to install more than 300 charging stations at our motorway service stations, a large proportion of which are provided by EnBW. This means that we have established a good, basic infrastructure for long journeys so that drivers can comfortably cover long distances on the motorways in their e-cars. In addition, the infrastructure is also already equipped to handle the increasing number of e-cars in the future. The next step is, in particular, to upgrade the existing charging stations. This will enable us to condense our network even further.

Regerbis: The aim is to increase the capacity of the charging stations. Our goal is to ensure that at least one quick-charging point with a capacity of 150 kilowatts is available at every EnBW charging station that we have installed at the Tank & Rast motorway service stations by the end of 2019.

Hofmeister: This is highly dependent on the size of the battery and the charging capacity of the model of electric car ...

Regerbis: ... as a rule of thumb, 30 minutes of charging at a 150 kilowatt charging station is sufficient for 300 to 400 kilometres.

Hofmeister: It is important to say first of all that the roll-out of electromobility infrastructure for long-distance journeys was carried out very quickly. Germany was not any slower than other countries in this respect. However, the infrastructure is far from being used to full capacity because the number of e-cars is still too low. The car industry now needs to do its homework and launch long-range e-cars on the market at reasonable prices.

Regerbis: However, the situation could change very quickly, especially as the car industry is currently under pressure and has announced huge investment. To ensure that we can respond flexibly when it comes to charging infrastructure, we have designed our charging stations so that they can be quickly scaled up. This applies to both the number of charging points and also the charging capacity.

Regerbis: If I could ask for anything, it would be the quicker realisation of the grid connections. Yet there is also a bottleneck in terms of construction. The service providers in the area of underground construction are fully booked months in advance.

Hofmeister: Another important issue is the availability of the required hardware, by which I mean quick-charging points with a capacity of 150 kilowatts and more.

Hofmeister: Definitely. I only have to think about things like automated driving or shared and connected mobility and I can see many common themes where closer cooperation would be beneficial.

Regerbis: Our cooperation is geared towards the long term and characterised by reliability, commitment and trust. The ideal requirements, in our opinion, for being able to offer our customers real added value both now and in the future.