In Norway and the United Kingdom, the EV revolution is reinventing the gas station
Are Hansen, who leads CleanTechnica Norway office, sent us a Elbil story, the Norwegian Electric Car Association, about a new Circle K petrol station in the city of Kongsburg, near Oslo. Norway, of course, has the most electric cars. per inhabitant of any nation in the world, through aggressive government policies.
With so many electric vehicles on the road, it was inevitable that changes would be made to gas stations along Norwegian highways. Circle K in Kongsburg is the first to reimagine what the future will look like. The biggest change? EV chargers are at the front. If you want to buy gasoline or diesel, you have to shop around the return. There are six 300 kW ultra-fast chargers and twelve 200 kW fast chargers that can service two cars at a time. If they are all used at the same time, they can consume over 1.8 megawatts of electricity.
At present, there are no electric cars on the road that can withstand a load of 300 kW. The Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT come closest, at 270 kW under ideal conditions. The Hyundai 5 and Kia EV6, which both use an 800 volt architecture, can charge up to 220 kW. It is clear that Circle K is preparing today for the future of the electric automobile.
To supplement the local electricity supply, the Circle K installation has 146 solar panels mounted on its roof with a maximum power of 50.38 kW. And to take advantage of the local utility company’s uptime tariffs, it also has a 200 kWH storage battery system which can be expanded to 300 kWH in the future. Battery storage saves Circle K in Kongsburg over 100,000 NOK ($ 1,150) per month in utility costs.
Fast charging is great, but people want a comfortable space indoors while their EV is charging, even if it’s only for 15-20 minutes. Kongsburg Circle K has a 50-seat restaurant on the second floor and many comfortable lounges on the first floor. Clean, modern, practical. These are the hallmarks of the future of electric vehicle charging with Circle K in mind.
New charging options in the UK
In 2011, British company Ecotricity began installing electric vehicle chargers at service stations along UK motorways, where they are known as forecourt. Much has changed in 10 years. Most of these stock chargers either don’t work or don’t have the power to meet the needs of today’s EV drives.
According to at BBC, Ecotricity has now been acquired by Gridserve, which promises to replace the 300 Ecotricity terminals located on 150 forecourts with modern equipment by September. It also says it will create at least 50 “electric hubs” comprising up to a dozen ultra-fast 350 kW chargers at motorway service stations across the country. Gridserve chargers will allow drivers to use contactless debit or credit cards to pay for their electricity instead of a smartphone app.
Gridserve has registered the name “Electric Forecourts” and plans to open more than 100 of these recharging centers in cities over the next five years. Each will include shops, cafes, restrooms and showrooms where people can learn about electric cars. Gridserve says all of its chargers are supported by solar farms, which means that every kilowatt of electricity taken from the grid is an equivalent amount of solar energy fed back into it.
The UK has announced that it will ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines from 2030. Due to the ban Toddington Harper, CEO of Gridserve, believes we are now entering a ‘mass market’ »For electric vehicles. “We can have the confidence to deploy a much larger number of chargers. The business case is completely different from what it was before. “
Takeaway meals
The only constant in life is change. In the past, small business owners could make a living selling gasoline, oil, batteries, belts, hoses, tires and maps to motorists. Then gas stations became obsolete as new technologies made cars more reliable. In response, gas stations became convenience stores, selling high fructose corn syrup disguised as soft drinks and snacks. Today things are changing again as more and more electric cars are available. The gas stations of the future will offer unexpected levels of comfort and convenience.