Fastned installs highway rest areas dedicated solely to electric vehicle charging

Fastned has won a tender today to install its electric charging stations on the E17 motorway in Belgium.

From now on, it is in the neighborhood of Gentbrugge, a district near the city of Ghent, that new Fastned charging stations will be found. This company, one of Europe’s leading installers of electric charging stations, has indeed just won a tender on this topic.

Fastned aims to enable travelers to recharge their vehicle quickly and continue their journey. This is thanks to the new 400 kW chargers, whose energy is solely derived from the sun and wind. Fastned will begin construction in Ghent in 2024.

The Flemish road authority, or Agentschap voor Wegen en Verkeer (AWV), issued this tender to various suppliers of electric charging stations. Fastned plans to develop 12 charging points at each station. Additionally, it will offer picnic areas, playgrounds, sanitary facilities, and stores to travelers.

What can we expect from these new charging stations?

Fastned promises a charging capacity at its stations of up to one thousand electric vehicles per day. According to the company, this would allow each vehicle to gain up to 300 km of range in just 15 minutes. However, no vehicle currently on the market can charge at 400 kW without damaging the battery and the car. The Porsche Taycan leads the way with 270 kW, but no other vehicle exceeds this charging capacity for now. 

Fastned considers these two stations near Ghent as the first “highway service areas of the future”. This is due to their specificity: they will only serve electric vehicles. Fastned thus plans to develop a full network of chargers across Europe. This will facilitate travel for commuters and vacationers. To date, 19 Fastned fast charging stations are already built, and 24 more are under development.

Read also: Fastned installs its rapid chargers between Lille and Paris