German food retailer tegut... and cleantech company Numbat are collaborating to roll out 1,000 fast charging points for electric vehicles in Germany.
Numbat and tegut... will attempt to increase the number of charging points in central and southern Germany from 2023, leading the development towards a nationwide fast charging infrastructure.
Numbat And Teo... Collaboration
Until now, implementing a fast charging infrastructure proved difficult for tegut..., due to the complicated connection to the power grid, transformer stations with long delivery times for transformers, as well as several construction measures and high investment costs.
With Numbat, the retailer believes it has found a partner that solves these problems with innovative technology.
Numbat relies on both fast charging station and battery storage, with quick installation.
Transformer stations are no longer necessary as part of the group's innovations, the retailer noted.
Numbat also optimises power consumption in the adjoining stores through energy management, achieving cost savings.
"Almost fully charging the battery of the e-car in 15 to 20 minutes while doing your shopping in the store: In the future, this will be possible at all of our customer parking lots," said Christian Günther, responsible for energy management at tegut...
"This will make shopping even more convenient for our customers. In the future, charging the e-car will no longer have to be planned, but will be done quickly and conveniently on the side. This is an absolute benefit for our customers, because with this fast charging option, we are completely catering to their needs."
'Responsible Action'
Almost all tegut... locations with parking space will be equipped with at least one, and a maximum of five, fast charging systems.
In addition, the continued expansion of the retailer's presence will result in more charging locations every year, as the fast charging systems will be planned from the outset with every new building in the future.
Martin Schall, managing director of Numbat GmbH, said, "With tegut... we have found another partner who focuses on sustainable, new technologies and knows what the world of tomorrow really needs. We can thus realise a project in the three-digit million range, which will catapult us to a leading provider of high-power chargers in Germany."
For Alexander Wilhelm, head of expansion, construction, and real estate at tegut..., the investment in the fast charging infrastructure is another important step in the company's sustainability goals.
He added, "Practically with the founding of tegut... 75 years ago, we took up the motto of acting responsibly with good food. For us, this 'responsible action' does not stop when a customer leaves the store.
"We implement it throughout the company. On the one hand, an environmentally friendly fast charging service is of course an additional service offering for our customers, but on the other hand it is first and foremost a major investment in clean mobility."
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
