VW Tesla
Volkswagen will purchase and install more than 100 Powerpack battery recharging stations from Tesla in the US this year, as it rolls out infrastructure for the coming wave of electric cars. The announcement came from Electrify America, a company VW founded with a $2bn investment made as part of its legal settlement in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal. “Tesla’s Powerpack system is a natural fit given their global expertise in both battery storage development and EV charging,” said Giovanni Palazzo, chief executive of Electrify America. The company said battery storage technology was needed so car owners could avoid paying higher fees at peak hours, when electricity costs rise. Tesla takes energy from the grid when it is cheapest, then stores it for use during any hour. The 100-plus sites will consist of a battery system offering 350 kilowatt hours of capacity and feature the “first-ever” liquid-cooled cable 350kW chargers in the US, the company said. That will be enough, in theory, to give electric cars 20 miles of driving range for each minute charged — seven times faster than the 50kW systems commonly used today, Electrify America said. The fast-charging network will be located in 17 metropolitan areas and along highways in 42 states. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Recommended FT Podcast VW takes on Tesla The news follows a series of announcements Volkswagen has made in the past few weeks related to charging and green energy. Last month, it established a new power company in Germany, called Elli, which will provide households and small businesses with solar and wind power to charge electric vehicles. Volkswagen is also beginning mass production next year of a giant “powerbank” designed to charge electric cars at places where infrastructure is lacking, such as concerts and other large-scale events. “We must concentrate all of our efforts on emobility,” Volkswagen chief executive Herbert Diess said in November, when the group said it would spend €30bn over the next five years on electrification. “We will have to be completely CO2 neutral by 2050.” Electrify America was tasked with creating electric infrastructure that would counteract the environmental damage caused by the emissions scandal. It must be open to other carmakers aside from the 12 Volkswagen Group brands.
