ABB recently installed the first three Terra 51 charge stations in Schruns-Rodund in the Montafon Valley, at the site of the Austrian Automobile Association (OAMTC) in Rankweil and in front of VKW's main office in Bregenz. VLOTTE is one of the largest electric mobility projects in Europe, having put nearly 300 EVs on the roads of the western region of Vorarlberg since its start in 2009. The project's first three fast-charging stations will officially be opened on October 20.

ABB's Terra stations can recharge an EV battery in as little as 15 to 30 minutes, compared with eight hours when using a regular alternating current (AC) power outlet. All Terra systems in ABB's global installed base are supported by the Network Operations Center (NOC), which provides remote maintenance, software updates and industry-leading backbone network uptime. VKW will use ABB's complementary Galaxy services to remotely monitor and manage individual charging sessions across the network.

Vorarlberger Kraftwerke AG (VKW), a unit of Austrian utility illwerke vkw, will operate the charging network as part of its prestigious VLOTTE project.

Hans Streng, senior vice president and general manager of ABB's Product Group EV Charging Infrastructure, said: ‘We're seeing increasing interest in our intelligent, future-proof solutions, which are designed to support all business models and all connection standards such as CHAdeMO and the EU/U.S. DC charging standard. Utilities like VKW recognize that connectivity is the key to success in this rapidly developing business, as it will dramatically increase the efficiency of their charging operations.’

Dr. Christof Germann, member of the management board of illwerke vkw, added: ‘One of our main goals is to learn about electric mobility. ABB's Terra systems and the Galaxy online tools provide us with detailed understanding of usage patterns, energy consumption and other charging-related matters, which will assist us in making the right decisions for the future. In addition, ABB offers outstanding local service support and remote assistance.’