Chew and charge: Audi offers fast-charging and fast food

If you fork out plenty of money for an Audi electric vehicle, then the German luxury car maker figures you might as well get a charging experience worth that money too.

That’s the idea behind a prototype premium high-power charging (HPC) hub that can offer EV drivers a pleasant place to hang while their vehicles get charged.

It’s a big change from the uninviting carparks that are often the location of charging stations.

Think of it as the airport lounge – Audi’s charging equivalent to the Qantas Club – albeit on a smaller scale.

Importantly, Audi says the hub can be transported, installed, adapted and scaled in size to the individual location quickly and be largely independent of local network capacities.

A prototype is set to be up and running in Germany in the second half of 2021.

Developing the hub reflects Audi’s increasing commitment to EV. Right now it sells only a handful of them, but by 2025 it plans to offer more than 20 fully electric models.

The last thing it needs is to have a bunch of cashed-up owners worried about how they recharge their expensive new EVs.

The hub is relocatable because containers form the basis of its construction, while fast-chargers with outputs up to 300kW aren’t fed directly from the grid, but by second-hand lithium-ion batteries from disassembled Audi development vehicles that store direct current electricity.

These storage batteries mean complex infrastructure with high-voltage lines and expensive transformers are unnecessary. The first hub will store 2.45MWh of electricity in three modules, servicing six chargers.

Storing electricity on-site also means the chargers only need a standard 400-Volt high-voltage hook-up.

Recharging the batteries will take place off-peak at night, supplemented by photovoltaic cells on the hub roof.

“The charging hub embodies our aspiration for the electric era and highlights Audi’s commitment to ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’,” said Oliver Hoffmann, Member of the Board for Technical Development of Audi AG.

“A flexible high-performing HPC charging park like this does not require much from the local electricity grid and uses a sustainable battery concept.

“Our customers benefit in numerous ways: from the ability to make exclusive reservations, a lounge area and short waiting times thanks to high-performance charging. This is consistent with the premium concept.”

While their vehicle charges downstairs, Audi drivers can relax in a lounge upstairs that Audi says will be a “premium” space and offer amenities such as snacks and drinks as well as “non-food items”.

These days, thankfully, wait times are getting shorter. For instance the newly launched Audi e-tron GT can go from five to 80 percent battery capacity in 23 minutes if hooked up to 270kW charging limit.

Happily, Audi isn’t going to just restrict hub access to drivers of its vehicles. Owners of other EVs will also be allowed to book in to recharge.