BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company and the Volkswagen Group, which includes Porsche and Audi, launched the IONITY – a pan-European high-power charging network.
The consortium plans to install 400 High-Power-Charging (HPC) stations across Europe by 2020. Out of those 400, 20 stations will be opened to the public this year. These new charging stations will be located on major roads of Germany, Norway and Austria, at intervals of 120kilometres. By 2018, the network will expand to more than 100 stations with multiple charging facilities. With a capacity of up to 350 kW per charging point, the network will employ the European charging standard or the Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors. This type of quick charging method is already being used in most of the aforementioned manufacturer’s electric vehicles. However, it would also allow the compatibility of cars from other manufacturers to be charged at this network as well.
To put things in perspective, Tesla’s Rapid Supercharger network operates at 120kW. The prices for this network are expected to be competitive with the existing pay-per-use charger networks. The network is intended to serve all CCS-equipped vehicles to facilitate the electric vehicles adoption in Europe.
All the four manufacturers, who are the founding partners, have equal shares in the joint venture, while other manufacturers are openly invited to help expand this network.
