E.ON opens large innovation centre for electromobility in Germany

PetrolPlaza visited the new state-of-the-art test laboratory with more than 25 test stations and five climate chambers covering around 10,000 square metres.

The expansion of public and private charging infrastructure continues to gather pace across Germany and Europe. To explore this developing market, last week E.ON opened a new, state-of-the-art test and innovation centre for charging technologies and sustainable energy solutions.

At the new site in Essen, E.ON is testing and researching charging solutions for electric vehicles and their intelligent integration into the energy ecosystem. On an area of around 10,000 square meters, more than 25 stations and digital test environments are available for testing vehicles, charging stations, wallboxes and accessories. The test lab also has five special climate chambers. These allow E.ON engineers to simulate all temperature conditions that occur around the world, from freezing cold to extreme heat. For example, the charging behaviour of electric cars can be tested at temperatures between minus 40 and plus 50 degrees Celsius. In addition to research and development, E.ON also uses the test center to train its customers and partners in installation and maintenance.

“Energy transition, clean transport, climate protection – all this will only succeed if electromobility gains even more momentum. We will build at least 1,000 additional public charging stations across Europe every year, further accelerating the transformation of traffic and transport. With our new test and innovation centre, we are creating the necessary capacity to meet the growing demand for charging infrastructure. As a result, we are ideally positioned for the dynamic market development of electric mobility,” says E.ON Board Member Patrick Lammers.

A special focus of the test lab is the electrification of heavy-duty vehicles. Together with vehicle manufacturers, E.ON is testing and developing charging technologies designed to meet the special requirements of electric trucks and buses. The test lab is the only facility in Europe where fast charging in heavy-duty vehicles can be tested with up to three megawatts of power.

E.ON is pursuing a Europe-wide growth strategy with its electromobility business and continues to focus on expanding its fast-charging infrastructure. The company plans to build at least 1,000 new ultra-fast charging stations per year in its European markets. In Germany, E.ON will build around 140 new charging locations with more than 1,200 charging points for the federally subsidized German network (“Deutschlandnetz”), making it one of the largest operators of the nationwide fast-charging network. This is in addition to the charging infrastructure E.ON is building for its customers across Europe. In 2022 alone, E.ON sold more than 20,000 charging points to private and business customers in Europe.