Tag Archives: IONITY

MRH Announces a Partnership with IONITY

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MRH say they are the:

UK’s leading independent service station operator by number of sites, serving 2.5 million customers every week at our 491 sites across the country.

Following in the footsteps of Shell at the end of last month they announced today that:

MRH, the leading independent forecourt trader, today announces a partnership with IONITY : a joint venture formed by leading car manufacturers which develops and implements a High-Power Charging (HPC) network for electric vehicles across Europe. The joint venture between BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company and the Volkswagen Group with Audi and Porsche, will build 400 fast charging stations across Europe by 2020.

MRH will be responsible for a significant number of sites across the UK by that time. The network will use the European charging standard Combined Charging System to significantly reduce charging times compared to existing systems. Each station will offer a capacity of 350 kilowatts, greater than the input capacity on any EV today. The current industry standard is just 50kW.

According to IONITY’s chief executive officer, Michael Hajesch:

We are excited to welcome MRH in the IONITY network. The partnership with MRH is key for us to leave a significant footprint in the United Kingdom as one of the major EV markets in Europe. It’s great to see how we are getting closer to our goal of enabling EV travel throughout Europe.

I’ll get excited once there’s a 350 kW EV charging station installed somewhere this side of Exeter!

Shell Joins the IONITY High Power Charging Network

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Our “High power charging” prayers have been answered! Three weeks ago we bemoaned the apparent lack of any plans to roll out the freshly announced IONITY network of CCS charging stations here in the UK. However IONITY have just announced that:

IONITY, which was founded only a few weeks ago, is taking off quickly. The joint venture of BMW, Daimler, Ford and Volkswagen with Audi and Porsche has formed initial strategic partnerships for the realization of its “High-Power-Charging” (HPC) network for electric vehicles in Europe. By teaming up with Shell, OMV, Tank & Rast and Circle K, IONITY has secured the coverage of more than half of the approximately 400 sites planned between now and the year 2020. Other partnerships are planned.

By joining forces with Shell, IONITY will be able to install its fast charging infrastructure at sites throughout ten European countries: Belgium, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. This collaboration will reinforce the business strategy pursued by both companies to offer more and more drivers of electric vehicles a fast, reliable charging service at attractive sites.

It was announced back in October that:

Shell, one of the world’s largest energy providers, has signed an agreement to buy NewMotion in a deal that will enable both companies to accelerate the transition to low-carbon transport.

Under the terms of the deal, NewMotion will remain focused on accelerating its mission in Europe by delivering more innovative smart-charging solutions to homes, businesses and public parking spaces. The acquisition will help NewMotion enhance its electric vehicle (EV) charging services turning more parking spaces into charging stations as well as improving users charging experience across Europe.

One way and another it looks as though Shell have some big plans for electric vehicles! When will those plans extend as far as South West England though, if ever?

IONITY – A New Pan-European High-Power Charging Network

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In a press release a couple of days ago it was announced that:

BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company and the Volkswagen Group with Audi and Porsche today announced joint venture IONITY that will develop and implement a High-Power Charging (HPC) network for electric vehicles across Europe. Launching approximately 400 HPC stations by 2020, IONITY will make long-distance journeys easier and marks an important step for electric vehicles.

Based in Munich, Germany, the joint venture is led by Chief Executive Officer Michael Hajesch and Chief Operating Officer Marcus Groll, with a growing team, set to number 50 by the start of 2018.

A total of 20 stations will be opened to the public this year, located on major roads in Germany, Norway and Austria, at intervals of 120 km, through partnerships with “Tank & Rast”, “CircleK” and “OMV. Through 2018, the network will expand to more than 100 stations, each one enabling multiple customers, driving different manufacturer cars, to charge their vehicles simultaneously.

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As that image implies:

With a capacity of up to 350 kW per charging point, the network will use the European charging standard Combined Charging System to significantly reduce charging times compared to existing systems. The brand-agnostic approach and Europe-wide distribution is expected to help make electrified vehicles more appealing.

Unfortunately, from our perspective at least, it seems as though “Europe-wide” doesn’t currently include the United Kingdom. What’s more the new joint venture isn’t worldwide “brand-agnostic” either. It seems unlikely that any Japanese EV OEMs will be joining the group any time soon. When it comes to rapid charging they currently prefer the CHAdeMO connector!