Circle K enables drivers to simply plug and charge across Scandinavia

The fuel retailer is introducing ‘Autocharge’ at charging hubs throughout Scandinavia. The function essentially starts charging automatically as soon as the car is connected to the charger. In one market, in particular, Circle K has nearly completed the roll-out.

Staying with Autocharge for a moment, the system does not require authentication via charge card but “speaks” directly with the vehicle. It is, however, not a standard as has been developed in ISO15118.

The Circle K solution requires owners to first register their vehicles in the company’s charge app and find the stations marked with ‘A’.

So far, drivers across Scandinavia and Estonia will see Autocharge stations come online, but Circle K has yet to mention how many and when.

In Norway, however, Autocharge is already available at 80 Circle K stops, making for around 90 per cent of the company’s network supporting the function.

“With Autocharge, everything goes by itself,” says Anders Kleve Svela, who heads the E-Mobility unit in Circle K Norway. Svela adds that Autocharge can be used by three of four electric car models but did not disclose which.

According to figures from the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, almost 700,000 electric cars are currently on Norwegian roads.

As reported, Mer by Statkraft has also started to introduce an Autocharge function in the country as a simple version of an automatic authentication for charging and billing to run automatically.

As for Circle K, the company aims for one-third of “energy stops” as it rebranded its petrol stations, to be equipped with charging stations.

According to Circle K, eighty pit stops from Tromsø in the north to Kristiansand in the south now offer Autocharge, with the rest to be gradually added.

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