In Netherlands, every McDonalds Drive-In will have EV charging stations

Netherlands-based company Nuon has signed a contract with fast food chain McDonald’s that will see EV charging stations installed at nearly 170 of the franchise’s McDrive locations.

Under the agreement, Nuon – a subsidiary of European utility giant Vattenfall – will install two fast-charging stations at all McDrive locations, in line with the fast food company’s objective to make all its restaurants more “sustainable.”

Due to commence at the end of 2018, the collaboration allows EV drivers to charge their vehicles in as little as half an hour – enough time, the fast-food company hopes, to scoff a large hamburger. There are already 22,000 electric cars on Dutch roads.

Electric charging stations are only as green as the source of the energy they use – but in this case, it is completely green wind energy produced by Dutch windmills.

Bas Klaassen, Netherlands’ Director of Development, Real Estate & Construction at McDonald’s, says the move will allow their customers unprecedented convenience.

“We are extremely pleased that with this collaboration we are able to offer our electrically driven guests the convenience of a fast-charging and good facilities of our restaurants. Electric riders can get back on the road within half an hour and have the time for a good cup of coffee,” he said in a statement.

Likewise, Nuon recognises the boost that the agreement will give not only to the 10-year-old electric infrastructure company, but also to the people of Netherlands as a whole.

“Nuon and Vattenfall want to make fossil-free living possible, at home, at work and on the road. That is why we have been active in electric transport for almost 10 years, both public, at home and at companies,” says Pieter van Ommeren, Nuon’s Director Emobility.

“The fact that we can now combine our expertise with the scale of McDonald’s gives the development of electric transport in the Netherlands a huge boost.

“Because to enable all Dutch people to drive electrically, a good infrastructure with sufficient and easily accessible charging points is essential. Nuon and McDonald’s are taking a great step in this today,” he says.