German energy utility E.ON and Danish firm Clever plan to build an "electric highway" of ultra-fast charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) between Norway and Italy.
Aided by the EU, the companies will install 180 ultra-fast EV charge stations by 2020 in seven European countries, including in Scandinavia, Germany, the UK, Italy and France.
Positioned every 150km or so along motorways, the chargers will have a rating of 150kW, about three times faster than the present norm, letting cars to take on 450km worth of charge in about 20 minutes. Later, they will be upgraded to 350kW, according to E.ON.
However, there will only be between two and six per station, so queues may develop if EVs become more popular.
That is certainly the goal of Casper Kirketerp-Møller, chief executive of Clever, described as an "electric mobility service provider".
"We believe that the combination of being able to cater for almost any car brand, securing the right locations and offering customers well thought through solutions will be part of convincing people that EVs are a real alternative to conventional cars," he said.
The programme is being supported by €10m from the EU over the next four years. The first sites are already under construction in Germany and Denmark.
Image: E.ON is planning to install 10,000 charging centres (E.ON)
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