Volkswagen, BP to Expand EV Charging Partnership

Volkswagen, a major European carmaker, and BP, a major oil company, could expand their charging partnerships and expand into other regions and technologies, the CEO said.

This is an increase in efforts by energy companies, including automakers, utilities, and oil companies, to expand the EV charging infrastructure and address the range of concerns about proper energy storage that are still squeezing demand. 

To solve this issue, both companies are planning to install 8,000 fast-charging spots across Europe by 2024 for battery-powered vehicles. The mobile quick charger has an output of about 150 kilowatts (kW) and can provide useful charging over a range of about 160 kilometers (100 miles) in just over 10 minutes. This is comparable to the time it takes to refuel.

At an event in Duesseldorf, unveiling the first electric vehicle charging station of their joint cooperation Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said that there are so many more areas where both companies are complementary. 

BP CEO Bernard Looney said that five hundred and fifty million people live within 20 minutes of a BP site and this provides the scale needed to roll out electric chargers on a bigger level. He also said that the thing he most liked about this partnership is that companies can do energy, electrification, and hydrogen together. 

Volkswagen also has European charging cooperations with Enel and Iberdrola in Italy and Spain respectively, with Volkswagen claiming that soon there would be an update on the latter alliance.