Barcelona has taken a fast-charging station in operation that is totally autonomous from the grid. It is powered exclusively by energy recovered during the metro trains’ braking process and from photovoltaic panels installed on roofs of metro stations. Six more of these stations are planned.

The new station is located on the Rambla de Marina in L’Hospitalet, close to the Line 1 Metro-stop Bellvitge. It offers two 50 kW chargers with three connectors each, which can be used simultaneously. Depending on the connector used, EVs can charge there for a maximum of 30 minutes, one or two hours. The kilowatt-hour costs 30 cents. If an EV stays plugged in longer than the maximum duration allowed, the driver is charged 0.399 euros per minute.

Innovation

However, the real innovation is where this charger (and the six others) gets its power from. It recuperates the energy produced during the braking of underground trains (or metro) and uses solar energy from solar panels installed on the rooftops of metro stations.

“The fact that the electric lines can operate with the metro’s surplus energy represents an important step forward for more sustainable and clean mobility in the Barcelona metropolis,” Carlos Cordón, Vice President of Mobility, Transport and Sustainability of the AMB, told the media. “It is great news for the decarbonised cities that we want, both present and future .”

All of the so called MetroCHARGE charging stations are part of the Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB) charging station network. To use them, customers must register via the AMB app. As mentioned above, Barcelona will set up another six MetroCHARGE charging stations, two of which will be located in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.