Solucious opens largest public charging site in Klein-Brabant

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Solucious, Colruyt Group's food service company, is opening the largest publicly available charging station in Klein-Brabant at its site in Bornem. DATS 24, the Virya Energy fuel and energy supplier (Colruyt Group's energy holding company), built a charging site with 26 AC charging stations (22 KW regular charging speed). A 60 KW DC fast charger will be added in August 2023. The public nature of the site is remarkable: the charging stations will be continuously available to the neighbourhood, local residents and visitors.

Solucious recently took a first important step in sustainable transport by putting five fully electric refrigerated trucks into service. The opening of this charging site is a further step within Solucious' ambitions of a sustainable, clean mobility. Yves Vandenbrande, Division Manager at Solucious: "It is true that we are strongly committed to electrification of our supply chain, for example with five fully electric refrigerated trucks for delivery to our professional customers. In addition, the charging station in our car park is also a clear sign that in terms of employee mobility we are also moving towards clean and emission-free driving."

Charging site boosts the neighbourhood

The Solucious car park, at the back of the building on the Rijksweg in Bornem (N16), is already being used by visitors to local events such as the Dodentocht, the summer happenings in Breeven and events at the Kasteel d'Ursel. From now on, this new charging infrastructure will be a real asset for those who drive electric vehicles. "We built this charging site primarily for our employees and visitors. At the same time, we realise that the charging site can be an asset for the neighbourhood and the many events taking place in Bornem. That is why we are happy to invite neighbours and event visitors to use it too," Vandenbrande adds.

Ready for the future

The charging stations were installed by DATS 24, which powers the charging stations with 100% green, local energy. "As each AC charging station is equipped with 2 charging points, today there is room to charge 26 vehicles simultaneously. In addition, we are also installing a fast charger this summer," says Jonas Cautaerts, final manager for electric vehicles at DATS 24. "We assume that this charging site will be frequently used by local residents and at local events. We are also monitoring usage and charging needs. If it should prove necessary, everything is provided to quickly double the capacity of the charging site to 52 charging points," Cautaerts said.

As is customary, users provide their own charging cable. They can pay with a DATS 24 charging card or app at €0.45/kWh. This price is lower than for apps or charging cards from other providers. The charging site represents an investment cost of more than the €200,000. Finally, this charging station was realised within the Clean Power for Transport call 2022 and with the support of the Flemish Government Department of Mobility and Public Works.