As automakers and consumers around the globe transition to an all-electric future, one the many issues preventing the nascent EV segment from growing faster is the availability of charging stations. To help alleviate this problem, Mercedes-Benz recently unveiled a new global high-power charging network at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
Designed to take advantage of green or renewable sources of energy, the Stuttgart-based automaker plans to establish more than 10,000 of these high-power chargers across North America, Europe, China, and other markets around the world. Meeting this goal would provide enough EV infrastructure to support a fully electric market by the end of the decade. Production of this framework will begin later this year, starting in North America.
With this Benz charging network, Mercedes-Benz owners will have the ability to reserve a charging station from their vehicle, while the network will be open to drivers of all makes and models.
“We won’t take a wait-and-see approach for this to be built,” Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, was quoted as saying. “That’s why we are launching a global high-end charging network. It’s designed to become another differentiator of Mercedes-Benz ownership for our customers and an asset with value creation potential for our company. We are excited to start right here in North America with strong and experienced partners like MN8 Energy and ChargePoint.”
General Motors currently has a division similar to this new Mercedes-Benz project, GM Energy. Designed as more of an at-home charging solution, GM is working with companies like SunPower, one of the nation’s leading solar technology and energy services providers, to provide:
- Bi-directional charging
- Vehicle-to-home (V2H)
- Vehicle-to-grid (V2G)
- Stationary storage
- Solar products
- Software applications
- Cloud management tools
- Microgrid solutions
- Hydrogen fuel cells
This new home energy ecosystem will be made available in conjunction with the launch of the all-electric 2024 Chevy Silverado EV, which is expected to begin production in Fall 2023.
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