Shell has teamed up with Ionity, which is backed by major carmakers, to roll out high-speed charging across 80 of Shell’s biggest European petrol stations CREDIT: PETER BYRNE/PA
Royal Dutch Shell has accelerated its drive into the electric vehicle market by teaming up with Europe’s fastest charging network.
The collaboration with Ionity, which is backed by major carmakers, will roll out across 80 of Shell’s biggest European petrol stations to allow drivers of the latest generation of electric cars to charge up in as little as five to 10 minutes.
The Ionity joint venture was formed in recent weeks by BMW, Daimler, Ford and Volkswagen with Audi and Porsche to create a network of 350kW chargers next to major highways in Europe.
The group has already clinched a deal with Austrian oil company OMV, rest stop operator Tank and convenience store chain Circle K in its bid to extend a high-power charging network across 50pc of all petrol stations by the end of the decade.
The innovation is likely to provide a major boost for the electric vehicle market by reassuring drivers that charge points will be available on long journeys, as well as offering an alternative if charging at home is not possible.
István Kapitány, Shell’s global retail boss, said: “Demand for electric vehicle charging on Europe’s major highways is set to grow rapidly. We are pre-empting drivers’ need to charge quickly by becoming one of Ionity’s major partners, giving customers access to the fastest charge points across 10 European countries.”
The team-up also forms a key part of Shell’s strategy to diversify its portfolio amid a wider global shift away from fossil fuels towards cleaner sources of energy.
The Sunday Telegraph reported earlier this year that Shell is poised to launch its first no-petrol fuelling station in London next year to offer motorists biofuels, electric vehicle charge points and hydrogen cell refuelling instead of traditional petrol and diesel pumps.
The project is part of a major overhaul of Shell’s service stations, which the group hopes to reimagine as “retail destinations”, providing good quality food and coffee alongside high-speed Wi-Fi.
The company is also considering plans to set up collection points for online shopping deliveries.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
