Audi has recently opened the world’s first luxurious EV charging station in Germany. However, it is not the same as other EV charging stations. Instead, the reservation-only hub offers a well-appointed elegant lounge where you can relax while your battery charges.
The charging concept, which is being tested in Nuremberg, is part of a new initiative to make life easier for electric vehicle drivers who live in cities, especially those without access to superchargers. Six charging ports are available, each supplied by 2.45 MWh of interim storage and an additional 200 kW of green energy.
“We want to use it to test flexible and premium-oriented quick-charging infrastructure in urban space,” Ralph Hollmig, the project manager, said in a statement.
“We’re going where our customers don’t necessarily wake up in the morning with a fully charged electric car and at the same time thinking about increasing charging demand in the future.”
Those ports will also be quite strong. They’ll each have 320 kW of charging capacity, which means they’ll be able to provide 62 miles of driving range to the E-Tron GT in only five minutes and charge its battery from 5% to 80% in 23 minutes. The company anticipates that roughly 80 EVs will use the hub daily.
A well-equipped waiting space is located upstairs in the hub. The modern lounge area will have sofas, TVs, WiFi, self-service coffee and vending machines, allowing you to relax or work while your electric vehicle charges. In addition, you won’t have to stress about running up a hefty bill while you wait. Each kilowatt-hour should cost around 35 cents, according to the company.
However, this is not a drop-in service; you cannot simply drive up to the hub with your electric vehicle. Charging appointments must be scheduled in advance for the time being. They’re also only for E-Tron owners with Plug and Charge capacity and a current charging service contract.
Although this may appear to be a limitation, you never know if Audi’s idea gets popular with other EV brands. After all, even your first-class sky lounge was only a vision at first.
Source: Audi