Aral opens Berlin mobility hub

The new mobility hub is an important step in bp’s strategy to offer convenience and mobility solutions that help us get toward net zero by 2050

What is a mobility hub?

Situated in the centre of Berlin, the mobility hub is a blueprint for the filling station of the future. It combines:

• A conventional Aral station with REWE To Go Shop.
  A Swobbee battery changing outlet for e-bikes, cargo bikes and small vehicles.
• Car sharing in partnership with Miles, Cambio and Greenwheels.
• E-scooter sharing in partnership with Emmy.
• Bike sharing in partnership with Nextbike.
• Two Aral ultra-fast charging stations.
• Connection to public transport (S-Bahn / U-Bahn / Bus).

The hub even has a DHL parcel connection facility and offers customers a comprehensive range of mobility options that go beyond those of a tractional fuel station.

Visiting the site in October 2020, bp CEO Bernard Looney said “[It has] everything in one place to meet customer convenience needs and get people where they need to be.”

How it works

Integral to the hub is Jelbi – an app that integrates all Berlin’s public and shared mobility options into a one-stop-shop. “With Jelbi we offer all forms of shared mobility in Berlin from a single source,” said Dr. Henry Widera, CIO and BVG’s Head of  Information and Sales Technology. “In this way we supplement the excellent local public transport with environmentally friendly sharing offers - digitally on smartphones, physically at our Jelbi stations.  

“We are pleased to have found a partner in Aral who, like us, wants to drive the mobility transition.”

A new “microgrid”

The hub is part of Aral’s expansion of an ultra-fast charging network: an important step on the way to low-CO2 mobility, Aral’s new 350 kW chargers provide up to 350 kilometres of range in ten minutes.

The units are not connected to Berlin’s medium voltage grid: rather, when not in use, they are charged by a local, on-site high-powered battery making the site self-sufficient in terms of electricity generation.

It’s the first stage in Aral’s ambition to create a “microgrid” with the aim of enabling superfast charging without impacting the main network’s capacity.

“We’re thankful to the city of Berlin for supporting the project,” said Bernard Looney. “Good partnerships will be key to getting to net zero for bp. We hope we can help create more of these sustainable hubs that help connect the dots across cities.”