Hectronic payment solutions for the world’s largest EV charging station

The world's largest charging park is now located in the Swabian Alb: 259 charging points for electric cars haven been put into operation at the park-and-ride area of the Merklingen ICE train station. For the first time, a charging and billing solution has been implemented that complies with the German calibration law and also meets the requirements of the upcoming German charging station ordinance. We are proud to have contributed to the success of this flagship project with our payment solutions.

The planners developed a forward-looking overall concept: a solar carport generates around 990,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year for the 259 charging points and feeds the surplus into the grid. There are already plans to retrofit the remaining 171 regular parking spaces at the station with charging points and to integrate a battery storage system as soon as demand increases.

The challenge of compliance with the calibration law and girocard payment

The operators strived to realize a forward-thinking and user-friendly payment concept designed to not only meet present but also future regulatory demands. Measuring and billing the electricity consumed in accordance with the German calibration law was therefore a must: each charging process is shown exactly in kilowatt hours - for maximum transparency for consumers. They can authorize their charging conveniently and completely independently via our central Hectronic payment terminals.

In Merklingen, it not only possible to pay with the usual roaming cards or apps, with which users can conclude individual charging tariffs with e-mobility providers. Other payment methods that consumers are accustomed to using in retail stores are also offered, including the girocard, debit and credit cards or digital options such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet. These so-called open payment systems are widely available and easy to use without registration or additional applications. According to current legislation, however, their integration is not yet mandatory - all new public charging stations will only have to support card payments from the summer of 2024. In Merklingen, we are anticipating this in the interest of consumers.

Sven Stottmeier, Director BU e-Mobility, Fleet Cards & Mobile Payment at Hectronic GmbH: "The mobility transition can only succeed if there is a reliable charging infrastructure. Transparency in electricity metering and billing creates trust on the consumer side, while the ease of use of the individual charging points promotes acceptance. In Merklingen, we have achieved exactly this with a modern charging setup."

The comprehensive range of payment options is made possible by Hectronic. With our many years of experience in parking and filling station management, we are now developing sophisticated payment and authorization solutions for e-mobility. In addition to a non-discriminatory payment system, our HecPay terminal offers flexible integration into existing charging infrastructures and a high level of compatibility with charging stations. Open interfaces also allow easy connection to backend systems - such as the Smartlab backend system used in Merklingen.

To know more about our e-mobility solutions, please visit our website.