STORIES – June 2023

For the most part, an electric car is the same as a petrol or diesel one. It’s just much better for the environment and way quieter. An important difference, though, is charging versus filling up. This is why we’ve gathered some helpful suggestions to get you started with EV charging.

Decide how you want to charge – and pay  

There are many ways to charge an electric car. The easiest way is to charge it at home or work, but that’s not an option for many people. You will also face situations when you need to charge fast on long journeys. That’s where high-speed charging comes into play, and you need to be ready.
The best way to ensure that you will always charge with the least possible hassle and cost is to equip yourself with a charging card that gives you access to a wide variety of charging networks, including superfast chargers like IONITY.  
For first-time electric vehicle drivers, the most obvious and convenient solution is to opt for the charging service of your car brand. This way, you ensure that the vehicle and charging service are ideally matched in case you want to monitor charging sessions via the manufacturer's app or use new technologies such as Plug & Charge. Plug & Charge is available on the IONITY network and allows you to simply plug the cable of the charging station into your car and charge. Typically, you are offered contactless payment options via RFID cards or tokens, smartphone apps, or even Plug & Charge.
If you are a frequent traveller, you can sign up for the IONITY PASSPORT. With IONITY PASSPORT, you have full access to all charging stations in the European IONITY network. This tariff is based on an subscription with a monthly access fee and offers a reduced rate per charged kWh / per charged minute. You can activate your IONITY Passport via our smartphone app.
In case you don’t want to get an app, charging card or RFID chip, there are QR codes on our chargers that make it possible to charge and pay through our website.

Learn to use chargers effectively

EV chargers work with different powers and speeds, as do electric cars. With IONITY, it’s quite easy on the side of the charger. With 350 kW of charging power, our stations are the fastest on the market, exceeding the maximum charging power of any car available on the market now or anytime soon. So, no matter the car, you will always get the fastest charge available. We call it “future-proof”.  
However, no matter how much power our chargers deliver – the actual charging speed depends on the voltage and current limits of your EV. That means, if your EV’s maximum charge rate is 50kW, the vehicle will not be able to charge any faster than 50kW. Even when using a 350kW charging point.
If you want to achieve the maximum charging speed of your EV, you should start charging at a State of Charge (SOC) below 20 % and only go up to 80 %. Typically, charging your EV from 80 to 100 % takes as long as from 20 to 80 %.

So, to put it all in a nutshell: start charging with a low battery level, charge only as much as you need to reach your next charging destination and stop charging at 80% if your route planning allows you to do so.