Brisbane's Tritium to build 100 EV charging sites across Europe

Australian EV charging specialist Tritium has been chosen by IONITY, a joint venture seeking to build a high-power charging network (HPC) for electric vehicles in Europe, as technology partner for the construction of 100 high-power charging sites across Germany, France, UK, Norway and Sweden.

The dedicated electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will have an average of up to six user units, each capable of delivering 350 kW of power that can add 150 km driving range in five minutes. All will be equipped with the combined charging system (CCS) used by a wide range of vehicle manufacturers.

“Increasing battery size and density means electric vehicles can travel further distances — but charging these larger batteries fast requires high-power charging infrastructure,” said Tritium founder and CEO Dr David Finn. “Our HPC solutions deliver up to 475 kW of power, making them capable of charging EVs in a very short time. And our goal is to bring charging times down even further, ideally to the same time as it would take to fill your tank with petrol.

“As with all the chargers in the Tritium range, these HPCs include Tritium’s unique and innovative liquid-cooled technology and our system has a significantly smaller footprint than other HPCs on the market — between 50 and 75% smaller.”

The deal comes just a few days after Tritium successfully exported and installed 12 of its flagship HPCs in Germany as part of the IONITY network, following its selection as a supplier for the project early last year, and not long after the NRMA selected the company as the supplier of electric vehicle chargers for its $10 million network rollout across NSW and the ACT.

The 12 German chargers have been put into operation at two Tank & Rast rest stops at Brohltal Ost and West, either side of the A61 highway in Germany. They form part of a planned pan-European network of around 400 HPC stations for IONITY that will ensure EV drivers can always find a charging station within the next 120 km.

“We entered into a strategic technology partnership with Tritium to introduce HP chargers across Europe and have been impressed with their technology and service commitment,” said IONITY CEO Michael Hajesch. “They not only deliver the required power for fast charging but are also highly efficient and compact devices.”

According to IONITY COO Marcus Groll, the two charging stations are “among the very first of our planned network, ensuring that EV drivers no longer need to fear what used to be called range anxiety”.

Image caption: IONITY CEO Michael Hajesch and Tritium CEO David Finn at an active charging site in Germany.