Fastned has built and is operating 63 fast charging EV stations in the Netherlands. The company's strategy is to use its Dutch network as a blueprint to roll-out fast charging stations across Europe and it is expanding quickly: in April, Fastned signed an agreement with Transport for London to become a partner for the development of the city's 300 fast charging points by 2020, and in September the company was awarded a subsidy of €4.1 million by the German government to build 25 fast charging stations.
Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché, said: “Fastned is one of the most advanced fast charging organizations in the world and we are delighted to become the company's energy storage partner. Our flexible and scalable battery solutions enable us to support businesses in a wide range of situations, from our work with Fastned to vast grid-scale projects such as in Canada, where we are building North America's largest fast charging network, to electric buses and ferries, through to creating battery swap solutions for small vehicles in countries where grids may be less reliable.”
Michiel Langezaal, founder and CEO, Fastned, said: “Leclanché has been leading innovation in energy storage for many years and is the ideal partner for us to develop a battery storage service for our rapidly growing network in Europe. The pilot project will showcase the technology and provide the data to support financing the roll out of Leclanché's batteries throughout our network.”
Leclanché will provide scalable battery energy storage systems (BESS) for Fastned, using large-format lithium-ion batteries. This storage system will allow Fastned to deploy multiple high-powered chargers per site while reducing the strain on the grid. The battery acts as a buffer between the electricity grid and the vehicles charging. It will also allow Fastned to store the solar energy from its solar roofs on-site. Leclanché's system will recharge the battery storage units during off-peak times at considerable cost-savings and reduction in stress to the grid. Leclanche and Fastned will make fast charging smart while improving the customer experience.
Fastned's highway charging stations have up to eight fast chargers, delivering a full charge within 20 minutes. Its city stations have up to four fast chargers. Payment is via an app.
In July, Leclanché announced its partnership with eCAMION and SGEM to build and operate a network of 34 fast charging EV stations along the Trans-Canada Highway, with installation of the stations from the second quarter of 2018, after trials.
This followed the company's June announcement of a worldwide deal with Skoda Electric in which Leclanché will provide Skoda Electric with batteries for its electric bus expansion strategy. Leclanché is also in advanced negotiations with an automotive systems integrator for a large volume battery solutions contract in India for which test units are being shipped shortly.
The EV industry is on the cusp of transformational growth as the power supply to vehicles switches from fossil fuels to environmentally friendly electricity; this shift is driving the long-term requirement for fast charging battery storage solutions.
According to the International Energy Agency, the number of electric vehicles grew by 60 percent to 2,000,000 in 2016. While this only represents 0.2 percent of cars and other light vehicles, governments are playing a major role in growing the market: in June, the 10 government group Electric Vehicle Initiative, including the USA, China, Japan, UK, Germany and France, set the target of having 30 percent of vehicles battery powered by 2013. This equates to over 200 million cars. In addition, the UK and France have banned diesel and petrol cars by 2040. China is also considering a ban; and in India, the power regulator has recently announced a policy encouraging vehicle battery swapping models, which would enable EVs to exchange their nearly discharged battery for a full charged one.
