There can be no mobility transition without e-mobility. Electrification is the key to reducing carbon emissions in the transport sector. That is why we are continuing to pioneer e-mobility – making it accessible everywhere and for everyone. Simply and conveniently. As the market leader in Germany, EnBW operates the largest fast-charging network and is expanding it at a rapid pace. In addition, the EnBW mobility+ charging service makes it easy for drivers in 17 European countries to charge their vehicles using the charging points of hundreds of other operators in the EnBW HyperNetwork. At the same time, we support local authorities and companies as an e-mobility partner and devise sustainable mobility concepts.
EnBW is expanding the public fast-charging infrastructure to meet the needs of all motorists. The company now operates more than 6,000 fast-charging points in Germany – demonstrating the suitability of e-mobility for everyday use. On average, customers can find a cutting-edge EnBW fast-charging location every 50 kilometers in Germany.
Whether on the road, at home or in the workplace; whether high-power charging (HPC) or wall box, our charging solutions can be found wherever our customers are, offering them the best technical option. When expanding our public fast-charging network, we manage every step of the process – from site selection, planning and construction to ongoing operation with 100% green electricity. At EnBW, private customers can find everything they need for charging at home. We offer our business customers convenient services, such as simple billing. We are also a strong partner when it comes to charging solutions for companies and local authorities. Thanks to our close cooperation with the Austrian technology and IT service provider SMATRICS we are able to offer individual solutions for electric company vehicles, among other things.
From the first e-scooter projects to around 20,000 fast-charging points planned in the EnBW HyperNetwork by 2030, our milestones show how we are expanding e-mobility step by step and helping to reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector.
Our predecessor companies, from which EnBW emerged, believed in e-mobility back in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, however, electric vehicles were still a rarity on Germany’s roads. Yet we were deliberately at the forefront of developments and in 2010 selected 500 pioneers from 3,000 applicants to help us with the mobility transition. The “Electronauts”, as we called them, tested the suitability of e-scooters for everyday use in the Stuttgart region – for a whole year. The project ultimately led to a reduction in carbon emissions of almost 100 metric tons. About 200 riders stated their intention to continue using the e-scooter after the test phase. You could say we set a thousand wheels in motion for the expansion of e-mobility in Germany.
A mere two years later, we also began focusing on electric power for cars. We commissioned our first intelligent charging station for electric vehicles at Stuttgart Airport in 2011. It was developed together with Bosch as part of the MeRegioMobil research project. The charging station was one of the first in Germany to be certified for practical use and enabled drivers to charge their electric vehicles regardless of the manufacturer.
No, this is not about the songs of a popular rock band – but about the abbreviations of two types of electricity. DC means “direct current.” In contrast, AC means “alternating current.” At the beginning of December 2016, we commissioned the first DC charging station at the “Tank & Rast” service area in Denkendorf in the district of Esslingen. The advantage of the new charging technology: While AC charging uses an on-board charger installed in the car to convert alternating current into direct current, with a DC charging station it is converted in the station’s current transformer. This makes charging much faster – which is particularly practical for those who are pressed for time. The regular output of DC charging points is up to 400 kilowatts. We also use these for our new fast-charging stations.
Transparent costs: On 1 March 2019, we became the first provider to introduce a new tariff for charging electric cars – with the price charged based on the precise kilowatt-hour. The innovation was rolled out across the entire EnBW HyperNetwork, which at the time comprised around 25,000 charging points operated by various providers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, more than 90 percent of all public, commercially available charging points. Even in the early days, we set great store by the simplicity and everyday suitability use of our EnBW mobility+ service for drivers.
In Baden-Württemberg, we completed the SAFE project in the fall of 2019. SAFE stands for “Area-wide safe charging network for electric vehicles” – and thus also for feeling safe in the knowledge of finding a charging facility anywhere. The aim of the project was to guarantee a comprehensive charging network in urban and rural areas – more than 450 charging stations in total. Commissioned by the state of Baden-Württemberg, 78 municipal utilities, suppliers and local authorities joined forces in a consortium. Besides being part of the consortium, we also coordinated the collaboration between the partners in our role as consortium leader.
EnBW and joint venture partner SMATRICS joined forces in 2020 and founded SMATRICS EnBW to operate and rapidly expand the largest fast-charging network in Austria. Both operators are leaders in the field of high-speed charging infrastructure in their respective countries. Thanks to SMATRICS EnBW, we are now also the market leader for fast-charging infrastructure in Austria.
We also began creating more and more opportunities to charge electric cars with ease on our premises. From 2019 to summer 2020, we installed 720 charging points across 120 of our company sites – today there are more than 950. That is roughly the equivalent to one site per week where we have installed charging infrastructure. Our employees can now charge their electric cars on-site. Of course, the same also goes for our guests. Thanks to the charging solution with effective load management from our subsidiary ChargeHere, many of the cars charge at the same time every day.
Our first fast-charging park is ultrafast and convenient – and a real highlight for us for several reasons. In Rutesheim on the A8, drivers of electric vehicles can not only enjoy ultrafast charging at eight charging points with an output of up to 300 kilowatts. Thanks to the shelter afforded by the extensive roofing, visitors are also protected from the elements during their travel break. The solar roof is the park’s standout feature. It helps the site to operate by supplying the solar energy it generates. Lighting and video surveillance provide security while public Wi-Fi increases the comfort for visitors.
We had more than one reason to celebrate in 2023. That’s because our EnBW mobility+ app came first in the charging network test by technology magazine “connect” for the fifth time in a row. EnBW came out on top in the categories for charging point coverage, app operation, app functions and payment / price transparency. We also received top marks as a charging network operator. According to other tests, we also led the way in terms of charging experience and options as well as sustainability.
In yet another significant milestone, we were the first company to build 1,000 fast-charging stations in Germany. Turbo speed is a term that not only applies to our charging stations, but also to the expansion of the public fast-charging infrastructure throughout Germany. More than any other company, we also demonstrated our considerable speed in 2023. Baden-Württemberg’s Minister President Winfried Kretschmann praised EnBW as a strong partner in the economy. And we are by no means finished: By 2030, we aim to be operating around 20,000 EnBW public fast-charging points nationwide. To this end, we are investing in a dense and reliable fast-charging network that is available to all motorists in Germany.
Featuring a wooden roof with a photovoltaic power plant and low-barrier charging points, EnBW has taken three different aspects of sustainability into consideration – environmental, economic and social – for its NextLevel fast-charging park in Lichtenau near Chemnitz, from construction to operation. Customers can charge their vehicles at one of the state-of-the-art location’s 24 fast-charging points with an output of up to 400 kilowatts.
Our answer to the “how” of the mobility transition is the EnBW HyperNetwork. It not only comprises the largest fast-charging network in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but also more than 800,000 charging points from hundreds of other operators in a total of 17 European countries. At the same time, we ourselves are continuing to drive the expansion of the nationwide fast-charging infrastructure, with an average of one EnBW fast-charging station opening every day. The focus remains clearly on our customers. At the HPC charging stations, they can charge up to 400 kilowatts (kW) of electricity in 15 minutes for a range of up to 400 kilometers with the transparent EnBW mobility+ charging tariffs. In our large EnBW fast-charging parks, such as those at the EnBW company headquarters in Stuttgart and in
To make e-mobility more convenient and suitable for everyday use, we are expanding our fast-charging infrastructure not only along highways, but also in urban areas together with strong partners such as retailers, filling stations and real estate companies. Going shopping at the supermarket, drugstore or home improvement center while charging the electric car? This is now a possibility at more and more EnBW fast-charging stations installed on the premises of our reputable retail partners throughout Germany. And we are constantly working on forging new partnerships.
The nationwide expansion of e-mobility is also largely supported by our subsidiary Netze BW (limited to Baden-Württemberg). It is the third-largest distribution system operator in Germany and responsible for ensuring that the vehicle charging process at home is both convenient and reliable. With the E-Mobility-Allee project in Ostfildern, near Stuttgart, Netze BW also analyzed charging behavior, the impact on the electricity grid and the potential for improvements in a residential area with ten households on the same circuit between 2018 and 2019. Netze BW is not only notable for its efficiency and customer service, however, because the company also received the German Sustainability Award in 2023 for its commitment to sustainability.
Technical innovation is a key driver of the mobility transition. That is why we are constantly exploring new ideas and working closely with partner companies. The first projects are already showing what is possible.
With a charging capacity of up to 400 kilowatts, we operate a fast-charging infrastructure that is ahead of the market and ahead of its time, because there are still no electric cars that can draw this amount of power. As soon as vehicles charge fast enough, EnBW customers can charge fresh range for 400 kilometers in just 15 minutes. Many new locations and fast-charging parks are already getting charging points with this capacity, proving that we are already expanding our fast-charging infrastructure for the future of e-mobility.
In order to keep track of future trends in the field of e-mobility at an early stage, we are not only working on our own innovative business models, but also focusing on partnerships and founding our own companies, such as ChargeHere. Together with this young company, we have developed an integrated charging infrastructure for companies, which can even be used to charge electric vehicles with solar power from the company’s own roof if desired.
How can drivers charge their electric cars without even getting out of the vehicle? One answer is automated conductive charging. When the electric car is parked over the charging plate on the ground, a so-called connector automatically extends from underneath and starts charging it. It is an affordable, safe and energy-efficient solution from the
We are one of the first companies to test another option: