Volkswagen's US subsidiary Electrify America has now equipped more than 140 fast-charging locations with stationary battery storage, over 90 of them in California. These systems have a total of more than 30 megawatts of energy storage capacity.


The battery energy storage systems (BESS) are used to cover peaks in demand and thus minimize the effects on the power grid. In addition, they can be recharged when electricity prices are low - and thus help the company, according to its own statements, to "maintain consistent prices".

The stationary batteries used by Electrify America come from Tesla , as reported . According to the VW subsidiary, this also makes it possible to install DC fast chargers in places where it would be too costly without the energy storage device. In addition, the battery storage systems can help to maximize the use of renewable energies - for example, by storing PV electricity generated on site and not feeding it in, or by preferring to recharge the storage system when there is a high availability of renewables.

"We are constantly striving to innovate that will drive the electric vehicle industry forward," said Giovanni Palazzo, president and chief executive officer of Electrify America. “With this significant use of battery storage, Electrify America can help ensure a more efficient customer experience, especially as EV adoption grows and infrastructure requirements continue to rise.”