Fastned acquires 10 new locations just off Belgian highways
Fastned, the European fast charging company, has acquired 10 new locations directly at entry- and exit-ramps along important Flemish highways. In conjunction with the allocation of locations by the Flemish Minister of Mobility, Lydia Peeters, a 0.6 million euro subsidy for these locations is granted by BENEFIC. Fastned intends to realise fast charging stations at the locations where hundreds of electric vehicles can charge per day at a charging speed of up to 300 kW.
In February of this year, the European project BENEFIC launched a third project call for infrastructure for environmentally friendly vehicles and vessels. Governments and companies could qualify for subsidies to support the construction of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. A maximum subsidy amount of 1.77 million euro has been made available for this project call, in which up to 20% of the investment costs are subsidised. The locations must be located along the TEN-T core network in Flanders and/or the Brussels-Capital Region or in its immediate vicinity.
The Flemish Minister for Mobility and Public Works, Lydia Peeters, has the ambition to realise 35,000 extra charging stations in Flanders by 2025. In order to stimulate the further development of charging infrastructure along the Flemish highways, the AWV has made several locations available for the BENEFIC project calls.
“This third BENEFIC call fits perfectly within the modal shift to sustainable transport. The project subsidy is unique because of its low-threshold approach, in which project calls for public and private parties are organized with European funds. I am convinced that the development of charging infrastructure is a crucial domino in greening the vehicle fleet. In Flanders, the ambitions for electric driving are high. By 2025, in addition to the 35,000 publicly accessible charging points, I want fast chargers along the major traffic axes at least every 25 km. By providing charging infrastructure, we provide security to users of electric vehicles. This will be an important incentive for individuals and businesses to switch to zero-emission vehicles.”
“It is fantastic that the AWV and BENEFIC are accelerating the realisation of fast charging infrastructure by making locations available as well as by granting subsidies for their speedy development. In this way, it is becoming increasingly easier to switch to an electric car, accelerating the transition to sustainable mobility."
Fastned's mission is to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility by giving freedom to electric drivers. Fastned does this by building a European network of fast charging stations where electric cars can charge super fast. Fastned is currently working on the realisation of fast charging stations at locations that it has obtained through the first BENEFIC project call from AWV. The first two stations of these 13 highway locations, which were awarded to Fastned by AWV at the end of 2019, will be officially opened this week by the Flemish Minister for Mobility and Public Works, Lydia Peeters.
About BENEFIC
BENEFIC stands for 'Brussels NEtherlands Flanders Implementation of Clean power for transport'. The main goal is to accelerate the realisation of infrastructure for environmentally friendly vehicles and vessels, making use of European subsidies. Among other things, it subsidizes the development of charging infrastructure located directly on or close to the European core network (TEN-T). In 2018, 2 project calls were already launched in which 33 projects were selected. More information about the BENEFIC call for projects can be found at www.benefic.eu.
About Fastned
Fastned has been developing fast charging infrastructure for electric vehicles across Europe since 2012. Fastned’s mission is to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility by giving freedom to electric drivers. Based in Amsterdam, the company has built 145 fast charging stations in the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Switzerland. Fastned is working on the expansion into France. The company specialises in developing and operating fast charging infrastructure where drivers can charge their electric vehicle with up to 300 km of range in 15 minutes before continuing their journey. Fastned is listed on Euronext Amsterdam (ticker AMS: FAST).