Ultra Fast Charging Station for Electric Vehicles
From gas station to recharge station.
Electric vehicles are the way of the future. The Ultra Fast Charging Stations welcome a break and an opportunity to recharge mentally in a green oasis. The energy and the technology are green. So is the architecture, the materials and the concept. The stations offer people a dose of mindfulness on the highway.
The charging stations are an oasis far away from the noise and pollution of the traditional fossil fuel-based gas stations. The light wooden canopy modules in combination with small areas of urban nature offer break from the surrounding busy infrastructural landscapes and a chance to recharge one’s mental batteries as well. Cobe developed an ultra-fast charging station modular kit including structural components as well as surface and landscape elements scalable for different contexts and conditions. The canopy is constructed for future disassembly to enable reuse and upcycling of materials as needed. Traditionally, the gas station has been dominated by hardscape asphalt surfaces. The clean charging technology offers an unprecedented potential for a much cleaner environment as there are no toxic fumes or oil leaking onto the paving.
The impact of electrified mobility will completely change how our cities look, feel and organize themselves in the future. According to WHO, 91% of the world’s population live in areas, where the level of toxins in the air exceeds recommended limits. The introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) on a mass scale will have a large impact, reducing the carbon footprint of each car to only 20% of that of a car driving on fossil fuels. The charging stations is based on a complete rethinking of the “mobility experience” driving an EV. The charging station should not only minimize the charging time but also create a meaningful break for the driver and passenger and inspire both the driver and other road users to change their habits.
The modular approach means that the design is scalable, and that one ‘tree’ can easily be multiplied to become a ‘forest’, depending on the required capacity. The first pilot station was completed in 2019 as part of an upcoming network of 48 charging stations along Scandinavian highways.
Plant and tree species have been carefully selected by the Danish Society for Nature Conservation to ensure the best conditions for local biodiversity and resilience.
The stations are constructed in wood and concrete, topped by solar panels and surrounded by actual trees, grass and other plantings. All components of the construction can be broken down into usable and recyclable materials and the choice of wood as a building material further emphasizes the building’s sustainable design. All wood used for the Ultra-Fast Charging Stations is FSC-certified or PEFC-certified. This means that it comes from forests, where the foresters never fell more trees than the forest can reproduce.
The first of the ultra-fast charging stations offers a relaxed experience in nature with a capacity of recharging four EVs simultaneously. The Fredericia charging station is constructed as a grove of 12 “trees” with a total crown of 400-m2, rendered in a mix of open and closed roof panels. The green roof of the canopy is prepared for heavy cloudbursts, as it is designed to retain water and fitted with downspouts that lead the water to natural green seepage areas.