Repsol launches the first ultra-fast charging point for electric vehicles in the Basque Country

Electric vehicles are enjoying good times in Spain, after we learned yesterday that so far in 2019 a total of 2,759 units have been registered, of which 1,302 were registered in March alone, which represents a 192% growth compared with the same period last year. We must not forget plug-in hybrids either, with 1,721 units registered in these first three months of the year.

Traffic restrictions on polluting vehicles, especially the most polluting ones, are driving the switch to this type of vehicle, particularly in large cities, where they can move around without problems thanks to the charging infrastructure installed. But the problem arises when an electric vehicle has to cover long distances, since finding chargers can be quite an ordeal depending on the area, and they still face the time that batteries need to charge.

In this regard, Repsol has been working hand in hand with the Basque Energy Agency (EVE) to create ultra-fast charging points for electric vehicles. The first of these has already been installed by the company Ibil, in which the two aforementioned parties participate to develop this technology, as well as electric vehicle charging services and capabilities. Ibil is also taking part in a project for a network of more than 1,700 charging points, 200 of which are publicly accessible.

This new ultra-fast charging point has been installed at the Repsol petrol station in the town of Lopidana, north of Vitoria, and is available for use by any electric vehicle, with standard Combo CCS connectors (up to 350 kW) and CHAdeMO connectors (up to 100 kW). The system has a maximum power of 700 kW, which can be shared among the different charging points according to the charging capacity of each vehicle, allowing a 40 kWh battery to be charged to 80% in just 10 minutes at most. This undoubtedly represents a major advance, since a fast charging point takes around 30 minutes for the same battery and, at a semi-fast point, the wait stretches to an hour and a half.

Fortunately, it will not be the only ultra-fast charging point to arrive, as this installation in Lopidana is part of the European E-VIA FLEX-E project, which will install a pilot network of 14 ultra-fast charging points along the European transport corridors of Spain, France and Italy.