Tesla is ramping up installation of its V3 Superchargers, with several sites in European countries including France, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands open or under construction, and a number of Supercharger units made at the Buffalo Gigafactory 2 currently aboard ships headed for Rotterdam.
Tesla’s V3 Superchargers will be a game-changer for European Tesla owners. First announced in March 2019, the level-up version of the electric car maker’s proprietary chargers will allow a maximum charge rate of 250kW, made possible by a new 1 megawatt cabinet that also does not split power when two vehicles are charging at once.
While the roll out of the first V3 Superchargers commenced in the US in 2019, and London received its first V3 Superchargers in late 2019 – as attested by Fully Charged’s Robert Llewellyn – Europe is yet to have any permanent V3 installations.
Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk said in January that deployment of V3 Superchargers would ramp up in 2020, and several social media reports of installations now under way back this up, along with a ship’s manifest (as shared by Tesla ship tracker @VedaPrime) stating 16 units made at Gigafactory 2 – where V3 units are made – are due to arrive in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on April 6.
Maersk Ohio is carrying 16 V3 Superchargers from Buffalo Giga 2 via Norfolk to Rotterdam, due to arrive April 6 #tesla #supercharger pic.twitter.com/AjbqTUsnbV
— VedaPrime (@VedaPrime) March 30, 2020
So what is known about the upcoming European V3 Supercharger sites?
Germany
First, we know that there are Superchargers already in operation in Hilden, situated in western Germany near Düsseldorf. German media site TE Magazin reports that while these are V2 “popup chargers”, the site promises to be Europe’s largest electric vehicle fast charging sites by 2022, with 40 V3 stations planned along with 20 350kW from European EV network FastNed according to the lessor of the site.
⚡️New Tesla Superchargers in Hilden, Germany. Started small with 16 V2 „pop up“ stations yesterday, but is aiming to become Europe‘s biggest (!) EV fast-charging location in 2022 with 40 V3 Supercharging stations plus 20 Fastned ones with up to 350 kW ???? pic.twitter.com/51c6y7hOo4
— Pascal Cremer (@b00giZm) February 15, 2020
France
Another site is planned for Saint-Laurent-sur-Manoire, near Périgueux in France’s south west. According to crowd-sourced Supercharger tracking site supercharge.info, this site will have 8 Supercharger stalls.
Voilà les photos des travaux… des supercharger de Boulazac Isle Manoire normalement le premier V3 ! pic.twitter.com/fFZKuHuoXo
— Mique24 (@mique24) February 21, 2020
The Netherlands
One of Europe’s biggest markets for electric vehicles, almost 30,000 Tesla Model 3s were sold in the Netherlands in 2019 according to Cleantechnica, twice as many as in Europe’s leading EV market, Norway.
Accordingly, there are three sites in total earmarked for the Netherlands according to supercharge.info, including Apeldoorn, Rijwijk and Uden.In total, Netherlands has 62 V3 Supercharger stalls planned.
Twitter user Roberti di Gento shared these images of the Uden site with construction well underway in early February.
The first @Tesla Supercharger V3 in The Netherlands is under construction in Uden. 24 stalls#tesla #supercharger pic.twitter.com/li1MiWkgMz
— Roberto di Gento (@robertvg) January 31, 2020
Norway
According to both supercharge.info and this report from Norwegian site Tek.no, the first V3 superchargers came online in the leading EV market of Norway in mid-March, with 12 stalls at Liertoppen, south-west of Oslo.
First V3 Supercharger (40 stalls) in Norway to open south of Oslo mid March!
????????❤️????????https://t.co/1dgaQ011WM pic.twitter.com/H9KTqR9Tu4— SNOWMAN ????♂️???????????? (@M_xalher) February 25, 2020
Italy
Not to be left out, Tesla has also begun construction of a V3 Supercharger site in Forlì, Italy. However, with Italy now one of the worst hit by the Coronavirus pandemic it is unclear whether construction has been halted. When finished, it will have 20 stalls according to supercharge.info.
Italy’s first V3 @Tesla Supercharger is under construction!!! pic.twitter.com/etuHl93N2k
— MarcoRP (@MrPlugShare) March 2, 2020
Denmark
According to supercharge.info, 16 stalls are currently under construction in Ikast, central Denmark.
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Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.