Sustainable buildings and sustainable mobility – a successful synergy
Deka Immobilien goes E-Mobility
A property – Latin im-mobilis – is literally something immobile. Yet a building has a lot to do with mobility - especially when it comes to using environmentally friendly means of transport.
Throughout Europe, governments have issued clear legal requirements for the CO2 and noise emissions that will be permitted in the future. Electric vehicles, i.e. vehicles with electric drives, are playing an increasingly important role in the mobility concept. As the number of new registrations increases worldwide, so does the demand for charging points. In its status report of the National Platform for Electric Mobility, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) assumes that about 85% of future charging will take place during longer idle times at home or at work. The remaining 15% are expected in public spaces, at petrol stations and service stations, and in retail outlets.
With the mobility revolution, the requirements for owners of commercial properties are also changing. It is foreseeable that office tenants and retailers will increasingly demand charging options for their vehicles. In this way, charging points in or on the building will increasingly be included as criteria in the rental decision.
Deka Immobilien supports its tenants with a variety of initiatives and continues to expand the charging infrastructure for electric mobility in Germany and abroad. Today (as of June 2022), Deka Immobilien's portfolio already includes around 800 charging points at around 100 locations worldwide.
Refuelling in Frankfurt's office tower TOWER185 – Germany's largest electricity charging station
TOWER185 in Frankfurt's Europaviertel district is an example of how tenants' wishes and sustainable mobility can be combined in the best possible way. In February 2022, Deka Immobilien connected Germany's largest e-charging service in an office building to the grid:
130 e-charging stations are available in the underground car park of TOWER185.
While you're sitting at your desk, your car is recharging: 130 e-charging points offering up to 22 kilowatts of electrical power are available here at TOWER185. Charging is, of course, done with 100% green electricity.
In the office tower, long standing times enable a lower output per charging point. This allows more charging points to be installed, so that up to 130 users can be provided with a charging option in parallel. A fully dynamic load management system from the operator Chargemaker ensures that each car is optimally charged. In the future, it is also planned to automate the allocation of spaces at the e-charging stations and thus enable optimal utilisation of the infrastructure.
The right building for climate-friendly mobility
With TOWER185, Deka Immobilien acquired a landmark in 2018 that already met high ecological standards at the time of acquisition. Designed under strict sustainability criteria, the TOWER185 was one of the first new high-rise buildings in Europe to receive the LEED Gold sustainability seal. An essential component of such certification is energy-efficient operation combined with low CO2 emissions. Not only are the car batteries charged with green electricity, but the entire operation of the building's common areas and technology is also ensured with electricity from renewable sources. Heating, cooling and ventilation are controlled by an intelligent building and energy management system.
Expansion of the e-charging infrastructure throughout Europe
By 2025 at the latest, all tenants of Deka Immobilien in Europe should have access to e-charging facilities on the premises. The focus is on the existing underground parking spaces. Allego has been won as a strategic partner for the Europe-wide development and expansion of the charging infrastructure and its operation. Allego, an independent consultant and service provider for charging solutions, currently operates over 28,000 charging points throughout Europe.
The partnership offers a choice of three different operator models – Sales&Service, FlexPark & Charge and High-Power-Charging (HPC) – as well as the entire range of current charging technology. Allego will take care of essential services related to the newly installed charging solutions, such as electricity procurement, consumption billing and the organisation of payment transactions. Deka Immobilien, as the owner of the buildings, ensures the grid connection, which can be quite complex depending on the building.
Green power as a concept component
In terms of pollutant emissions for the operation of the vehicles, the electric car only achieves an advantage over combustion engines if the electricity used is also generated as renewably as possible. Against this background, Allego purchases "green" electricity at every location where the electricity market has been liberalised.
"Together with our partner Allego, we are meeting the challenges of the energy transition with an efficient charging infrastructure in 18 European countries. By the end of 2022, the first four Deka office buildings in Belgium – Spectrum, Schumanns 6, Rubens and Matrix 23 – will be equipped with e-charging stations."
John Geiling, Strategic Procurement Management at Deka Immobilien
E-charging stations in retail properties
The demands of e-mobilists on the duration of the charging process depend strongly on the location of the charging points. For example, the dwell time for e-vehicle users in a retail property is usually significantly shorter than in an office building. In retail destinations, fast-charging solutions therefore make sense so that the battery can be significantly charged during the shopping trip.
For the targeted expansion of charging infrastructure in the retail sector, initial initiatives are being rolled out across the country. In Germany, for example, Deka Immobilien, together with Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW), will initially install 36 charging points at six retail properties owned by Deka Immobilien. Each location, which is home to a large number of shops, will be equipped with at least four HPC (high-power charging) points that enable charging with up to 300 kilowatts. With this power, cars can be charged within twenty minutes with 100% green electricity for a range of around 400 kilometres – a time window that fits perfectly with the duration of a shopping trip.
"By providing fast-charging infrastructure, we offer the customers of shopping centres and retail parks an additional service during their shopping trip and thus create a locational and competitive advantage for our tenants. The cooperation with EnBW brings us a further step forward in the nationwide expansion of our fast-charging services".
Jessica Cwyk, Strategic Tenant Manager at Deka Immobilien
Implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals:
11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
Promote electromobility to reduce inner-city pollution.
12 Responsible Consumption and Production
More electromobility means less extraction and burning of fossil fuels.
13 Climate Action
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions caused by motorised private transport.
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