To help standardize a fast charging station solution in Europe, six German companies, the BMW Group, Bosch, Daimler, EnBW, RWE and Siemens have agreed to establish a joint venture in the first half of 2012.
The new agreement will allow electric vehicles made by these car manufacturers to share the same fast-charging stations. The six partners have signed a letter of intent in Stuttgart, Germany.
The new platform will enable customers nationwide uniform charging stations access and convenient billing processes.
The standardization will help expedite the electric car movement by reducing the infrastructure cost and the complexity of charging stations, and will also improve the ownership experience for EV drivers.
The common goal is to build a comprehensive, easy-to-use charging infrastructure through a comprehensive network to promote and facilitate the offer of complementary services and also to boost the popularity of electric vehicles.
In addition, energy suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, charging station operators and service providers would have access to standardized anonymous data through the platform.
Note: The German government aims to have around one million electric vehicles on roads by 2020.
Source: RWE.
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