Smatrics EnBW accelerates the expansion of its e-charging infrastructure

Since July – and thus timely for the holiday season – a total of 260 HPC fast-charging points are available in the Smatrics-EnBW charging network in Austria. That is 84 more High Power Chargers than at the beginning of the year. The focus in the expansion of the charging infrastructure in the second quarter was on retail partners: A total of 32 charging points were installed at Billa branches.

“In addition to the fast charging network along the high-ranking road network, the charging infrastructure at retail partners is now growing particularly. At our charging stations with up to 400 kW power, drivers can charge their vehicles during a short shopping stop. For modern cars, this is enough for the journeys of the following days or until the next shopping trip. This makes e-mobility simple and practical for all people without a wall box at home,” explains CEO Thomas Landsbek.

Create more capacity in a shorter time

"Compared to regular fast chargers with up to 50 kW, the new HPC chargers deliver eight times the power. This accelerates the ramp-up of e-mobility and furthers the path to energy transition," COO Hauke Hinrichs expresses his delight.

A significant lever for an accelerated ramp-up lies in the construction of larger sites.

"By offering more charging points in one location, we can provide consumers with a more convenient charging experience while simultaneously leveraging synergies in maintenance and operation," says Hinrichs. "Additionally, we have optimized and stabilized our cooperation processes with local distribution network operators. These improved processes enable us to expand new charging station locations more quickly and easily and extend existing stations."

For this, Smatrics EnBW is also investing in the required transformer stations.

Updating Existing E-Charging Infrastructure as an Addition to Expansion

The new charging stations are spread across nine locations: Vienna and Salzburg now each have four additional HPC fast charging points available, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, and Styria each have eight. Burgenland even has twelve, thereby surpassing Vorarlberg and Vienna solely in terms of high-speed charging points. Most of Smatrics' high power chargers are located in Lower Austria and Upper Austria. In addition to expansion, the company is also heavily investing in updating existing e-charging infrastructure. The electricity for operating the charging stations continues to come 100% from renewable energy sources from "Verbund".

Smatrics EnBW and Wien Energie Expand Austria's First Ultra-Fast Charging Location

Just over six years ago, on May 30, 2018, Smatrics EnBW together with Wien Energie opened the first ultra-fast charging location at the "Favoriten" roundabout in Vienna. Now the companies have once again joined forces and doubled the capacity at the location. Since the reopening, a total of four 300-kW fast chargers with a total of eight charging points are available. This is a doubling of capacity. Two are owned by Smatrics EnBW and two by Wien Energie.

In recent years, the number of fast and ultra-fast charging points in Vienna has increased from 0 to around 300. In the next six years, by 2030, the metropolis is expected to need six times the current capacity.

“To meet the upcoming demand, all players must unite forces. The charging location at the roundabout has successfully demonstrated how the expansion of e-charging infrastructure in urban areas can be accelerated,” explains Thomas Landsbek.

“In addition to our densely-knit basic charging network with over 2,000 publicly accessible charging stations, we are also expanding fast-charging stations like here at the roundabout. Here, E-car drivers can quickly and easily charge green electricity and continue their journey after a few minutes,” says Michael Strebl, Chairman of the Wien Energie Management Board.