Audi has realized that the electrification of its vehicles over the next few years needs to be backed up by a charging infrastructure capable of meeting peak demand. What the German automaker has come up with is a concept for a premium recharging experience called an Audi charging hub.
Tesla’s solution to recharging its vehicles is called Supercharger, and those locations look like a cross between a gas station and a parking lot. Audi is thinking a more premium experience is in order for its customers, so has combined charging stations with an area to relax. The concept hub is a two-story building with six charging stations on ground level and premium lounge facilities upstairs.
Audi intends to make these charging hubs very quick to construct while keeping sustainability in mind. Each hub will be capable of storing 2.45Mwh of energy while offering a charging output at each station of 300kW. However, rather than requiring high voltage lines and expensive transformers be installed to cope with the power draw, Audi is combining a standard 400 volt high-voltage hook-up with second-life lithium ion battery modules taken from old vehicles. The combination not only makes the hubs cheaper and quicker to build, it offers a new way of recycling old batteries before they truly reach the end of their usable life as an energy source.
“The charging hub embodies our aspiration for the electric era and highlights Audi’s commitment to ‘Vorsprung durch Technik.’ A flexible high-performing HPC charging park like this does not require much from the local electricity grid and uses a sustainable battery concept. Our customers benefit in numerous ways: from the ability to make exclusive reservations, a lounge area and short waiting times thanks to high-performance charging. This is consistent with the premium concept,” says Oliver Hoffmann, Member of the Board for Technical Development of Audi AG.
Recharging your electric car takes “a little longer than a coffee break,” according to the company, which is why the lounge area could prove popular (and profitable). The roof is covered in solar cells, naturally, which should produce enough energy to power any number of drinks and food services Audi cares to offer inside.
The first hub is set to appear in Germany, but Audi is still deciding on a location and is open to the possibility of partnerships. We should expect it to pop-up in the second half of 2021 and its performance will be assessed before deciding on a final design. Drivers of other brand electric vehicles are apparently also going to be encouraged to visit this pilot hub.
