Volkswagen Group of America has opened a large electric vehicle charge park at the Innovation and Engineering Center California (IECC) – Silicon Valley Campus. In addition to 11 existing charging stations on campus, a total of 51 new charging stations are now fully operable on the property and accessible to the public.
The chargers were installed as part of a grant issued to Volkswagen by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The upgraded charge park now features a combination of two DC Fast Chargers and 49 Level 2 AC Chargers. The 100kW DC Fast Chargers are equipped with two connectors, enabling two vehicles to be charged simultaneously.
The system is managed by PowerFlex Systems’ patented Adaptive Load Management (ALM) software. The software will determine the power delivery based on usage and time of day to help even out the electrical flow avoiding too much strain on the electrical grid and designed to offer lower charging costs to users. All Volkswagen Group of America employees have free access to the stations and open stations are accessible to the public at a cost.
“Our new charge park is an exciting addition to our campus and to the surrounding Silicon Valley community,” said Chuhee Lee, VP, Mobility Design & Technology, IECC, Volkswagen Group of America. “This also solidifies Volkswagen Group’s continued commitment to the electric future.”
The IECC has two branches: Innovation Center California (ICC) and Engineering Center California (ECC). The ICC is a strategic pillar of Volkswagen Group’s Innovation Ecosystem whereas the ECC works closely with the Volkswagen Group of America Engineering team developing products for the North America Region. Since opening in 1998 with just three employees, the IECC has grown to nearly 200 engineers, scientists, designers and psychologists all working in synergy to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley technology and the automotive group.
