Tankstelle magazine in Germany recorded a really interestin interview with Jan Petersen, Managing Director of "TotalEnergies Charging Solutions Deutschland GmbH. Below are the edited highlights.
Creating an offer for electric drivers at their own petrol station is a question of cost and space. In the cover story of its December 2025 issue, "tankstelle" and some experts shed light on the possibilities that exist even without grid expansion and where the next charging hubs will be built.
You describe the BER location as your first flagship hub in Germany. How many more such large charging hubs is "TotalEnergies" planning in the coming years and which strategic locations are in focus – will you continue to concentrate on transport hubs such as airports and motorways?
Jan Petersen: We will selectively develop the construction of large charging hubs at central transport hubs. We are currently planning a similar location in Berlin at the Museum Hamburger Bahnhof. The new charging station is being built in the immediate vicinity of Berlin's main train station and is aimed at tradespeople such as taxi drivers, as well as private individuals who bring travelers to the station, pick them up from there or visit the Museum of Modern Art in the old Hamburger Bahnhof.
With 400 kilowatts of charging power, you are already setting very high standards. What does your technological roadmap look like – are you planning even higher charging capacities in the near future and how are you preparing for new vehicle technologies, for example in the field of autonomous or hydrogen-powered vehicles?
Jan Petersen: We are currently installing charging stations with outputs of 50 to 400 kilowatts at our charging hubs, depending on the available grid capacity and the length of time the cars spend in the parking lot. The trend is clearly towards higher charging capacities. Even higher outputs than 400 kilowatts are perceptively possible, for example at BER, but are not currently planned nationwide.
Power supply from our own production
The BER hub is fully supplied with renewable energy and has its own solar panels. How do you intend to ensure that the supply of green electricity is guaranteed even if your charging network expands rapidly, and what role does local energy generation play in this?
Jan Petersen: Parallel to the sale of our filling station network, we invested heavily in the expansion of our integrated electricity business in Germany. We develop wind and solar energy as well as battery storage and are also active in electricity trading through our subsidiary "Quadra". This allows us to ensure from our own production that our charging stations are completely supplied with electricity from renewable energy sources.
Will you continue to set up charging stations in supermarket parking lots, such as at "Penny" in Rastatt?
Jan Petersen: Yes, because we want to create attractive charging options wherever our customers can seamlessly integrate charging their vehicles into their everyday lives. In addition to our cooperation with the supermarkets of the "Rewe Group", we also rely on charging offers at shopping centres. In Brandenburg, we recently installed a total of 40 new charging points for e-cars at Kaufpark Eiche and Havelpark Dallgow.
Petrol station operators have traditionally been wary of new technologies – what guarantees and service models do you offer to reduce investment risk? And do you work with established partners from the energy industry to create trust among conservative decision-makers?
Jan Petersen: From our point of view, the future role of the classic street filling station within the charging infrastructure is questionable. At "TotalEnergies", our focus is on the development of charging services at central transport hubs, shopping centres and company locations, and in particular in the context of the German network. As part of this, we are setting up 1,100 fast-charging points nationwide in rural, suburban and urban areas as well as 166 fast-charging points at unmanaged rest areas along the motorway.
Text: Lisa Levy. Photo: TOTALEnergies Charging Solutions Deutschland GmbH/Max Lautenschlaeger
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