EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) – one of Germany’s and Europe’s largest fully integrated energy companies, and the leading provider of fast-charging infrastructure in Germany – has commissioned a pioneering new fast-charging park in Klipphausen, Saxony.
The covered charging park is located directly off the A4 motorway and connected to an adjacent 12,000 m² solar park that will, in the coming weeks, begin feeding green electricity directly into the charging park for use at the charging points. The solar park is almost invisible within the surrounding industrial landscape, spread across the rooftops of five factory buildings belonging to local businesses.
To accelerate the rollout of sustainable charging infrastructure, integrated concepts such as the new EnBW charging park in Klipphausen are essential. The site features 20 high-power charging points (HPC) with outputs of up to 400 kW, allowing EV drivers to add up to 400 km of range in just 15 minutes. The site is designed for future expansion to up to 40 charging points as e-mobility adoption increases.
While charging, customers can access restrooms, and a restaurant at a nearby rest area will soon provide food and refreshment options during charging breaks.
The solar installation itself is impressive—not only from the air: covering 12,000 m², nearly two football fields, it delivers over 1.7 MW of capacity.
This electricity is supplied directly to the charging park. At peak operation, for example, eight vehicles (at 200 kW each) or four vehicles (at 400 kW each) can be simultaneously powered with locally generated green electricity.
“The Klipphausen charging park not only strengthens the fast-charging network in the eastern federal states but also demonstrates impressively how the various elements of the energy and mobility transition interlock,” explains Volker Rimpler, CTO of EnBW mobility+ and head of fast-charging infrastructure expansion.
What happens when the solar system produces more electricity than is needed for vehicle charging? The excess energy is fed directly into the grid—an important contribution to supply security.
If more electricity is required for charging than the solar park can provide, the system automatically draws power from the grid: “Because the site is grid-connected, charging operations are guaranteed even when the solar plant cannot generate enough electricity at certain times of day or year. Of course, we always use 100% green electricity for operation,” says Marco Masur, Product Manager at EnBW.
The Klipphausen location joins others such as the “Next Level Charging Park” in Chemnitz, becoming the fourteenth EnBW fast-charging park in eastern Germany.
Bernd Freischlader, whose company owns the rooftops hosting the solar installations, is pleased with the project’s commissioning and the upcoming connection of his PV systems: “I’m proud that the new solar panels on my factory roofs are contributing to the future of e-mobility and sustainable energy infrastructure,” says the EnBW project partner.
Mirko Knöfel, Mayor of Klipphausen, is equally enthusiastic: “This new charging park shows how the energy transition works right here in our community. I’m particularly pleased that such a project could be implemented so quickly.”
EnBW plans to connect additional charging parks to solar and other renewable power facilities in the future. The company aims to develop and expand holistic solutions for a sustainable energy future.
With over 7,000 fast-charging points, EnBW operates Germany’s largest fast-charging network and intends to expand it to more than 20,000 points by 2030.
Facts about the Klipphausen Fast-Charging Park (Saxony):
- 20 HPC charging points (up to 400 kW), expandable to 40
- Power supplied by an adjacent 12,000 m² photovoltaic installation
- Direct access from the A4 motorway (exit 77a Wilsdruff)
- Restroom facilities for customers
- Adjacent rest area with restaurant in planning
