Charging at the lamppost

05.06.2024

Source: Energie & Management Powernews

In Jena, Thuringia, street lights could soon be providing people with more than just light

They are located all over the city and are already connected to the power grid - at least in theory, street lights could be ideal locations for e-car charging points. Stadtwerke Energie Jena-Pößneck and Kommunalservice Jena (KSJ) are now testing the idea in a joint pilot project.

Because it's not quite so easy to put theory into practice: "The street lighting grid in Jena differs from the usual domestic installation," says Wolfgang Hillesheim, responsible for traffic control at KSJ: "Technical factors are the length of the cable and a comparatively low output, which is naturally only switched on during the dark hours of the day. But the location is also decisive as to whether a lamppost is even suitable as a charging point. The task now is to find out whether the available power is sufficient to charge vehicles with electricity within a reasonable period of time."

To this end, a first street lighting pole has now been equipped with a charging facility for electric vehicles in the KSJ customer parking lot. This can initially be used exclusively by the project partners to test technical processes and framework conditions. In the coming months, four lamppost charging points will be installed in public spaces for anyone to use. Depending on the evaluation of the usage data, the project partners will then decide by the end of 2024 at the latest whether the lamppost charging concept should be expanded further in Jena.

Kommunal Services Jena has around 12,500 street lamps in the city. Jenaer Stadtwerke currently operates a public charging network with more than 80 charging points, eight of which offer fast charging for electric cars. The company also provides around 350 additional charging points for private households, businesses and the housing industry.

Author: Katia Meyer-Tien