Our E.ON Drive EV Testing Lab – a story in numbers

Our E.ON Drive EV Testing Lab – a story in numbers:

• 10 years in development and growth
• From 20m² to a brand new 10,000m² live laboratory with the very latest in future energy home and EV charging technology
• 26 testing stations and 5 climate chambers running from -40°C to +50°C
• Working with world-leading OEM motoring, technology and business brands including BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo and MAN
• 3MW of electric vehicle charging potential (that’s a lot of power!)
• Training hundreds of technicians each year on the latest energy solutions

Our E.ON Drive Testing Lab is shaping the mobility of the future. This is where we work alongside world-leading technology, automotive and sustainability brands to test and perfect charging and the latest solutions for the future energy home.

It’s also where we train our customers in installation and maintenance and design the right ways to connect the entire energy ecosystem.

As E.ON's technological flagship, our lab is making the energy transition tangible – proving that sustainable solutions are safe, effective and valuable to everyday lives.

The energy transition covers everything from more efficient, more comfortable (and cheaper to heat) homes to new transport solutions that improve air quality in our city streets, and which contribute to our net zero ambitions.

When it comes to cleaner transport, this will only succeed if e-mobility gets faster and we can convince people around the world to join that journey. At E.ON we have committed to building at least 1,000 additional public charging stations across Europe every year, further accelerating the transformation of transport.

Our new Testing Lab sits on the outskirts of the city of Essen and allows us to test and research charging solutions for electric vehicles and their intelligent integration into the energy ecosystem. On an area of around 10,000 square meters, more than 25 stations and digital test environments are available for testing vehicles, charging stations, wall-boxes and accessories.

The test lab also has five special climate chambers to put this technology through its paces in the harshest of environments – from -40C to +50C. These allow our engineers to simulate temperature conditions from around the world, from the coldest Scandinavian winter to a summer heatwave.

With global sales of electric cars hitting new records (the International Energy Agency predicts  the number of electric cars could increase tenfold by 2030) companies are working flat out developing new vehicles and the products to support them. Of course, the danger is that with such speed and variety – not to mention different designs and regulations across nations – comes confusion and complexity.

That’s where the Testing Lab comes in, allowing partners to work together to find the right solutions and to make sure everything works exactly as it should before it goes on sale to the customer