Stuttgart airport
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With the purchase of a chargeBIG charging system, Stuttgart Airport is relying on a cost-effective solution from MAHLE for the electrification of employee and fleet parking spaces, thus making optimal use of its existing infrastructure instead of having to invest in large-scale network expansion. chargeBIG is a corporate start-up from MAHLE that aims to reduce power bottlenecks in the electricity grid and enable rapid development of a nationwide charging infrastructure.
The basic idea of chargeBIG is a centralized and scalable charging infrastructure concept for day parkers and fleet operators. “The bottleneck in the charging process is the power peaks in the electricity grid and not the actual available energy. We take advantage of this situation with intelligent load distribution,” explains Sebastian Ewert, Head of Project Management Europe at MAHLE and chargeBIG team member.
The installation of the 110 charging points at Stuttgart Airport together with MAHLE partner eliso is already in full swing. The outdoor area and the parking facility have already been developed, now the installation of the charging points on the tarmac in wall and pedestal mounting is still taking place.
The chargeBIG charging concept for single-phase “AC Destination Charging” with charging capacities between 2.3 and 7.2 kilowatts is composed of an intelligent central control unit including permanently attached cables with plugs instead of charging columns at the parking lot. Thanks to the intelligent charging system and the design-to-cost approach, investment measures in the expansion of the network connection are not required and, as a result, significant savings are made in terms of costs and time in the development of the charging infrastructure.
A dynamic, phase-specific load management system distributes the available charging power to the parked vehicles via a central control unit. This avoids unbalanced loads in the power grid. chargeBIG reacts flexibly to other consumers in the grid and uses the electric vehicles as a controllable load. This enables optimal use of the available power grid. Two further plus points: In terms of installation and maintenance, chargeBIG’s solution is less expensive than alternative systems, as the charging points can be kept very simple thanks to the central electronics. In addition, they are de-energized when not charging – a clear advantage in terms of safety.
The concept is ideal for an application area with around 20 to 100 electrified parking spaces and is infinitely scalable – an ideal solution for locations where many e-vehicles have long idle times, such as at the worker’s employer, at the airport or at park & ride sites.
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