First charging station for electric cars opened in Saudi Arabia

On Friday, July 20, Engineer Al-Harith Al-Hussan, Executive Director of Ashhan Renewable Energy Company, inaugurated the first high-speed charger for electric cars in the Kingdom, at the Sharafat Park site located in the city of Al-Khobar.

The ceremony was attended by a number of engineers, stakeholders and owners of electric cars, including the Juffali Company, which participated with three newly-made Mercedes-Benz electric cars. It was the first experience for local electric cars to charge the batteries of their vehicles through this charger, which has a charging power of 200 kilowatts.

In addition to its speed, this charger is characterized by ease of use and access, as payment is made by local or international bank card (Mada, Visa, MasterCard, etc.) without the need for a prior subscription or a special application. Charging is done very easily, as only a few touches are enough to complete the payment process and start charging. The shipping cost specified in the station is 0.59 riyals per kilowatt.

Engineer Al-Harith delivered his speech at the ceremony, in which he expressed his thanks to the government agencies that contributed to facilitating the access of this service to the citizen, and added that there is no electric vehicle in the Kingdom unless it is preceded by a comprehensive infrastructure. In this regard, the Kingdom can be one of the leading countries in this field if supported and invested in it. Therefore, the company’s plan aims to provide these stations, and thus it follows the orbit of the Kingdom’s vision in this regard. If the vision aims to reach the percentage of electric vehicles in the city of Riyadh to 30% by 2030, this requires accelerating the establishment and establishment of Many reliable power stations, not only in the city of Riyadh, but also in all regions of the Kingdom.

It is worth noting that the Ashhan Renewable Energy Company signed a memorandum of understanding last month with a Korean company specialized in the manufacture of electric vehicle chargers, in the presence of the Korean Minister of Land and Infrastructure with the Korean Ambassador to the Kingdom. Note that the Saudi Charge Company was established in early 2022 in the capital, Riyadh, and obtained approval from the Saudi Electricity Company to install electric vehicle chargers, and obtained the necessary licenses from the Standards and Metrology Authority. In light of this, the Ashhan company concluded contracts with a number of private sector companies to install electric vehicle chargers, including hotels, real estate companies, car rental companies, and car agents.