Pilot operations and charging stations – interesting facts about e-mobility
Who drives e-vehicles in Aachen?
In the meantime, the STAWAG has 35 electric vehicles in service. But the City of Aachen also operates many electric cars. Aachen’s municipal services have 12 electric street cleaning vehicles in operation on two daily shifts. The city’s Facility Management Service uses a Renault Kangoo as a courier service vehicle as well as a number of electrically powered repair service vehicles. The city’s Environmental Office drives electric on inspection trips, and e-vehicles are also in use by the fire brigade.
In future, the plan is that work-related journeys by members of staff in all municipal departments will all – as far as possible – be made using exclusively e-powered means of transport. In the course of 2017, an e-fleet of 20 cars will be established to make this possible. And the ASEAG has recently ordered 15 electrically-powered articulated buses from the company Sileo. These will be deployed on the bus routes 33 and 73.
How good is the performance of an e-car?
A typical e-car is an e-Smart or a Renault Zoé. Assuming a remaining battery charge level of 10 percent, the battery can be fully recharged in 6-8 hours under conventional charging (AC, 3.6 kW), and in just 30-45 minutes at a fast-charging station. The straight electricity costs per 100 kilometres amount to a good 4 euros for a charge of 15 kWh.
For the STAWAG, the electric speedsters represent a double saving. Because the vehicles are exclusively operated with green electricity, they reduce the annual CO2 footprint by thousands of tons – something which has a direct positive effect on the much-bemoaned quality of the air in the city. And there is also an advantage in terms of operational costs. Green electricity powers the vehicles at a significantly lower cost than petrol or diesel, and e-vehicles also have lower maintenance costs.
E-charging stations in Aachen
Aachen currently has 33 public charging stations, most of which belong to the www.ladenetz.de consortium. STAWAG customers can recharge their batteries there for free, but customers of other network consortiums can also use the charging stations and pay via PayPal.
