Aral aims to double its German high-power charging network

Aral is accelerating the expansion of its HPC network in Germany. By the end of this year, the German oil company, now owned by BP, wants to double the ultra-rapid charge points from today’s 1,500 to 3,000 and invest up to 100 million euros for this purpose.

“With our expansion targets for this year, we are well on the way to achieving our medium-term goal of over 5,000 charge points,” says Alexander Junge, Aral Board Member for Electromobility. “Very recently, we can report that we have already registered one million charging processes at our columns.” This took around three years, and the first two HPC pillars at Aral’s headquarters in the German city of Bochum went into operation in May 2019.

In the statement, Aral emphasises that it will also focus on fast chargers with up to 300 kW in further expansion. The new charging stations will stand at the brand’s petrol stations and at “busy locations such as supermarkets and restaurants”.

The company feels the “tailwind from the strong increase in new registrations and customer acceptance of its charging offer”. Nevertheless, the expansion of charging infrastructure in Germany “still falls far short of its possibilities”. Aral names long planning and approval procedures as the main reasons which make it difficult for operators to expand their network.

Aral Pulse is the German equivalent of BP’s Pulse network in the UK. The Aral Pulse brand claims it has over 1,500 charging points nationwide. Globally, the British oil and gas company aims to expand its network of public charging stations to more than 100,000 by 2030.

aral.de (in German)