Charging the future

As part of the brand’s commitment to e-mobility and a CO2-neutral future, Audi is investing in its own extensive charging network across all of the company’s sites. This ambitious project will see the introduction of electric car charging facilities at one in 10 parking spaces at Audi sites by the middle of 2022.

This will equate to more than 4500 charging points for battery-operated vehicles, which will be largely available to for public use was well. This independent concept is the largest charging infrastructure project carried out by a German employer. The investment provides Audi with a head start in terms of setup and operation expertise for the hardware and software of such charging concepts while also allowing the company to pilot a new business area of mobility.
“Establishing such extensive charging infrastructure is a completely new challenge,” says Maximilian Huber, project manager for the initiative. It’s a massive undertaking by any measure, with 3500 charging points to be available at the main plant in Ingolstadt alone. There will be 1000 charging points in Neckarsulm and another 100 in Brussels and Győr. Likewise, charging infrastructure will be built at the factory in San José Chiapa and the company already offers expansive charging capacities at the training centres at Munich Airport. 

Obviously a project of this size and scope does not happen over night and is an expensive undertaking. A charging concept on this scale is unique in Germany, but is seen by Audi as a vital step in the company’s transition to all-electric mobility for the future. With a budget of EUR 100 million, the project will require meticulous preparation and largely independent energy management to see it brought to fruition.

The project team is responsible for planning the entire strategy, investment, and concept, and manages the setup and operation of the charging infrastructure as well as the billing of charging procedures at the Audi sites. The charging points are expanded to suit the needs of the employees and other people using the parking facilities, and the charging infrastructure is designed accordingly. 

At the sites in Brussels, Ingolstadt, and Neckarsulm, charging infrastructure with a total power input of 21 megawatts is already available. This corresponds to the power consumption of a small town with 14,000 inhabitants. This includes 600 charging points with an output of up to 22 kilowatts (kW) and 60 direct current charging points with an output between 50 and 350kW. By the middle of 2022, there will be 4,500 charging points, each with an output of up to 22kW, and approximately 50 more with an output of up to 350kW each at the plant sites alone. A dynamic and intelligent load-management system will be used to control all power input across sites this year, so the power connection does not need be expanded. 

In addition, there is the equipment at the three Audi Training Centre locations at Munich airport. Here, Audi’s largest individual charging park with a power input of 2.1 megawatts is connected to the energy grid, but in conjunction with the construction of the new Audi Training Centre building, solar power will be used for the charging in combination with a battery buffer storage device. 

“It’s not just about energy supply, though,” says Huber. The project team has also created its own navigation map on the basis of Google Maps that allows employees to see in real time where charging terminals are available. Invoicing via online systems and the integration in an internal settlement system are further important services. 

The long term benefits for Audi are obvious, but they go beyond the convenience for employees and visitors. There is also the possibility of making the acquired expertise in this area available to other companies that are looking to expand their own charging infrastructure. Developing this area of the Audi business is the next step on the company’s journey from a pure automotive manufacturer to a mobility service provider, creating another strong pillar in the company’s already impressive lineup. Audi has set itself the goal of becoming the leading CO2-neutral premium provider, and by 2050 at the latest, the company’s operations are to be entirely CO2-neutral. The landscape is changing rapidly, and Audi is very much at the forefront of the new wave.