Netherlands to get Fast EV charging stations every 50km able to fill a charge in 15-30 mins

Swiss-based ABB announced today that it had won a contract by Fastned to build out the EV infrastructure of the Netherlands.

The contract is to supply chargers to more than 200 electric vehicle fast-charging stations bringing an EV fast charger within 50 kilometers (33 miles) of all of the country’s 16.7 million inhabitants.

“This countrywide network of locations will lay the basis for the commercially viable development of e-mobility,” said Bart Lubbers, one of Fastned’s founders. “I foresee a race towards faster charging and larger batteries throughout the car industry.”

The plan to deploy EV fast-charging stations along Dutch highways started in 2011 when Fastned asked the Ministry of Infrastructure for permission to implement an EV-charging network. In December 2011, the government announced a public-tender process to facilitate the deployment of charging facilities at the 245 service stations along the Dutch highways. Fastned gained concessions for 201 locations.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people.

The charging stations will have a solar canopy to help reduce the load during peak operating hours reminiscent of Tesla’s supercharging stations of similar design.