Brandenburg's Minister of Economic Affairs uses the Rapid Charger 150 to charge with clean electricity

Rapid charging station at the government site in Potsdam

The state Brandenburg's Minister of Economic Affairs, Jörg Steinbach, and BLB Managing Director Frank Duckwitz officially put the fast charging station "Rapid Charger 150" into operation at the government site at Heinrich-Mann-Allee 107. In addition to the 14 grid-connected AC charging stations already installed, the government site now also features a powerful, off-grid fast charging station with two DC charging points. While the AC charging stations are continuously monitored and are automatically and dynamically reduced if the connected load exceeds the limit value, the Rapid Charger 150 is completely independent of the power grid. It generates its own CO2-neutral electricity from liquid Ethanol. Therefore, electric vehicles can charge with 100 percent clean electricity when using the Rapid Charger 150. 

Those mobile charging stations are developed and produced in Wildau, Brandenburg. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor, and Energy funded the development and was excited to install their own station at the side in Potsdam.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steinbach, Minister of Economic Affairs of the state Brandenburg, says: "Charging stations contribute to the energy transition. This is still, and foremost, an electricity transition. We need a genuine sector coupling to reduce carbon emissions in the mobility and heating sector. Brandenburg is supporting the energy transition in transport and its infrastructural supply. We provide targeted support to companies developing innovative products and services for future transport systems. The aim is to develop solutions for the mobility of tomorrow in the region along the lines of digitalization, networking, automation, and electrification. New technologies need testing for this. Therefore, we have supported the developments for the fast charging station."

The challenge of network capacity

If more fast charging points are built, it is more likely that the current power grid can quickly reach its limits. This issue also affected the BLB. To prevent power outages due to high demand, load management systems are installed to reduce the power output of grid-connected charging points when the connected load exceeds the limit. 

The problem can be solved by extending the power grid connection. However, in many cases, this means long planning and permission times and the financial outlay in the three-digit range. The only option to avoid it is to bypass the power grid. This is only possible with an off-grid fast charging solution, which is ready to use anywhere and anytime. In addition to eliminating the mentioned problems, these offer many advantages. These mobile charging stations are available to buy, rent or lease. The flexibility of these solutions makes it possible to scale them according to one's needs and relocate them as required. Limited network capacity is no longer an obstacle. For these reasons, the BLB relies on the off-grid charging solution to ensure a very resilient charging infrastructure for multiple government locations.

The BLB is further expanding the charging infrastructure for the state administration's vehicle fleets

The BLB is currently working on an expansion concept for the charging station infrastructure on the state-owned properties, according to the Gebäude-Elektromobilitätsinfrastruktur-Gesetze (GEIG). It successfully piloted the government site in Heinrich-Mann-Allee based on an individual site analysis. BLB Commercial Director Frank Duckwitz explained: "It is our task to set up a charging station infrastructure for the state administration's vehicle fleets that adapts to the various government locations. We will gradually expand to all government locations on a site-specific basis by 2025." The expansion of the charging station infrastructure is ongoing. One of me energy's fast charging stations has been commissioned for each of the administrative centers in Cottbus and Eberswalde, and another one is already operational in Neuruppin. BLB covers the investment costs for the charging stations, which are refinanced by passing them on to the users of the state administration.

About the BLB

BLB is the state Brandenburg’s central administration partner concerning property, building, and construction management. As the owner, it manages large parts of the state's real estate assets and is also the landlord. BLB is also responsible for construction projects for customers in Brandenburg, from the State Chancellery to the Ministry of Justice to the Forestry Office, for the federal government and, if of particular interest to the state, and for third parties. It also organizes the vehicle fleets for Brandenburg's general state administration. Every working day, the approximately 560 employees of the BLB implement a construction volume of around 750,000 euros. They manage up to 500 properties with almost 850 buildings throughout Brandenburg, with more than one million square meters of usable space and circa 1,500 rental contracts.