Nine months after announcing its initial plans for a rollout of a global EV fast charging network, Mercedes-Benz has shared a progress update that should see some stations opening up very soon. The German automaker announced that the first ones will go live in Atlanta, Georgia in USA, Chengdu in China, and Mannheim in Germany by October this year.
The network will eventually consist of over 400 planned charging hubs (hubs have multiple chargers) , which would become home to over 2,500 ChargePoint DC fast charging stations across North America. It is financed and jointly operated alongside MN8 Energy. By the end of this decade, there will be more than 10,000 charging points in 2,000 charging hubs across North America, Europe, China, “and other core markets”.
Mercedes stated that it intended to build the charging stations in populated regions where an increasing number of EVs are seeking to recharge. This would give drivers a place to plug in close to retail stores and other service facilities in addition to high traffic highway corridors.
These charging stations will provide up to 400 kW of power via CCS1, CCS2, NACS, and GB/T depending on region. Each vehicle will be charged at its maximum power rating, reducing the charging time to a minimum.
The network will use only renewable energy, and some hubs will have solar panels installed so they can generate their own electricity.