{"id":52073,"date":"2026-10-17T17:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T21:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=52073"},"modified":"2026-10-15T14:21:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T18:21:39","slug":"cologne-tested-a-curb-charger-that-hides-a-22-kilowatt-ev-socket-inside-a-standard-size-curbstone-logging-2829-charging-sessions-with-over-99-percent-availability-and-installation-still-cost-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/cologne-tested-a-curb-charger-that-hides-a-22-kilowatt-ev-socket-inside-a-standard-size-curbstone-logging-2829-charging-sessions-with-over-99-percent-availability-and-installation-still-cost-about\/52073\/","title":{"rendered":"Cologne tested a curb charger that hides a 22-kilowatt EV socket inside a standard-size curbstone, logging 2,829 charging sessions with over 99 percent availability, and installation still cost about the same as a charging post"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Four curb chargers on Klosterstrasse and D\u00fcrener Strasse in Cologne logged 2,829 validated charging sessions in 329 days and were available more than 99 percent of the time. Rheinmetall\u2019s unit hides a socket of up to 22 kilowatts in a curbstone, and one driver summed it up in the pilot\u2019s user survey: \u201cReally practical, really inconspicuous on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The City of Cologne and TankE, owned by the local utility RheinEnergie, ran the pilot with Rheinmetall from April 2024. Putting the curbs in cost about as much as a regular charging post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A tank maker&#8217;s idea for parked cars<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rheinmetall is better known for weapons and military vehicles. The curb charger comes from Pierburg, a subsidiary of the group, according to the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Christoph M\u00fcller, then head of Rheinmetall&#8217;s Power Systems division, gave the company&#8217;s version when the Cologne results came out in May 2025. &#8220;Our product integrates the charger electronics into a standard Kerbstone to enable the charging of electric vehicles directly at the roadside \u2013 without obstructive bollards, intrusion into the pedestrian area, or compromises in terms of safety or aesthetics,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A year earlier, at the launch, he had put it more bluntly. &#8220;No additional space is required in the road space, which is already narrow.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How drivers plug in<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The unit is about 39 inches (1,000 millimeters) long and weighs about 176 pounds (80 kilograms). Under a metal flap sits a Type 2 socket, the standard AC plug in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a card, QR code or app unlocks it, the flap &#8220;can be opened with one hand using the charging plug,&#8221; according to the case study, so nobody has to touch the curb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/en-11-medio1-curb-charger-flap-plug.jpg\" alt=\"Hand pushing open the socket flap of a Rheinmetall curb charger with a charging plug while holding a phone\" class=\"wp-image-52134\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/en-11-medio1-curb-charger-flap-plug.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/en-11-medio1-curb-charger-flap-plug-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/en-11-medio1-curb-charger-flap-plug-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A user opens the socket flap of the curb charger with the plug, next to a QR code and the card reader. (Photo: Rheinmetall)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ascan Egerer, Cologne&#8217;s alderman for mobility, said at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rheinmetall.com\/en\/media\/news-watch\/news\/2024\/04\/2024-04-25-pilot-project-for-curb-chargers-in-cologne\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">April 2024 launch<\/a> that &#8220;the curb charger has the great advantage as it can be used in the existing infrastructure of the public road space, apart from the connection box.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The kerbside technology is therefore much less complicated than a conventional charging station. We are looking forward to the experience,&#8221; he said. The connection box is a metering cabinet, and unless an existing one has room, it still has to go somewhere on the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cologne needs thousands more charging points<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cologne had roughly 2,000 charging points, according to the case study. Forecasts cited there put its need at 3,800 to 6,800 public ones by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Egerer listed the issues the curb helps with: &#8220;the necessary clear pavement widths, visual axes, avoidable overbuilding of media supply in the pavement, monument protection in planning and implementation.&#8221; Nearby Wuppertal once solved its own space problem by building a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/germany-built-a-flying-train-above-a-crowded-river-valley-in-1901-because-there-was-barely-any-room-left-on-the-ground-and-125-years-later-the-eight-mile-suspended-railway-still-car\/36814\/\">railway that hangs above the river<\/a> in 1901.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stephan Segbers, then RheinEnergie&#8217;s director of sales and energy procurement, spoke at the launch. &#8220;Today is another milestone in the series of innovative mobility projects that we have developed in Cologne in recent years,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We are proud to be working with Rheinmetall and the City of Cologne to test another innovative technology and expand our expertise in the development of charging infrastructure.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Rheinmetall Curb Charger\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/M9wLHn7ZBGw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rheinmetall&#8217;s 71-second promotional video presents the curb charger as a way to add public charging points where space is limited. Video: Rheinmetall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What a year in Lindenthal showed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Klosterstrasse logged 1,426 sessions and D\u00fcrener Strasse 1,403. Rheinmetall says the average of around 19 kWh per session &#8220;corresponds to a range of approximately 120 kilometres,&#8221; about 75 miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Klosterstrasse, where sessions averaged 9.2 hours, the chargers &#8220;were often used well beyond the charging session \u2013 as a parking space or as a place to leave cars overnight,&#8221; the case study says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Our developed Curb Charger is a series-ready product,&#8221; M\u00fcller said, and the four points moved into regular service after the trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In D\u00fcsseldorf, the city utility Stadtwerke D\u00fcsseldorf put its first series-produced curb chargers into service on Derendorfer Allee in June 2025. By October 2026 it was running 35 of them, which it says work almost 100 percent of the time, and a new site in the Airport City district became its fifth curb-charger location in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur experience so far shows that the technology is not only extremely reliable, but is also very well received by users,\u201d said Julien Mounier, the utility\u2019s chief executive, in a statement translated from German.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rain and flooding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The electronics module is rated IP68, sealed against dust and lasting submersion. The whole unit is IP54, which covers splashing water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rheinmetall\u2019s product page says the charging socket has integrated water drains. \u201cIf water accumulates on the street and could compromise safe charging, a water level sensor interrupts the process before the residual current device (RCD) is triggered,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On flooding, Rheinmetall&#8217;s product page says &#8220;the electronic modules from the units can also be removed in minutes.&#8221; Cities already struggling with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/sponge-city-tech-is-teaching-concrete-to-drink-stormwater-like-a-thirsty-park-and-it-cant-happen-fast-enough\/33929\/\">stormwater on hard pavement<\/a> will watch that closely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Users wrote in about bending down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One hundred users answered an anonymous survey and gave the charger 4.38 out of 5. Some left comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Good solution for retrofitting, inconspicuous, high charging performance,&#8221; wrote one. &#8220;It&#8217;s hardly possible to vandalise this type of charging station, as the plug can only be used once you have registered. That&#8217;s great,&#8221; wrote another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Somebody else went straight to the obvious objection. &#8220;Anyone who drives an electric vehicle and accepts the effort of using the charging cable will have no problem bending down. Great initiative.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I think the curb chargers are great because they take up very little space and are very easy to operate,&#8221; wrote a fourth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not every neighbor was thrilled. One resident complained about car noise during charging and &#8220;the sound of the falling metal flap,&#8221; and once the flap was damped, according to the case study, that person &#8220;expressed a very positive opinion about the improvement.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For wheelchair users, the partners concede, the charger could be &#8220;impossible or difficult to use due to the lower insertion height.&#8221; Rheinmetall has developed a plug-in support device for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Free power and installation costs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Charging in Cologne was free for the whole pilot, so the numbers do not show demand at paid rates, the figure most drivers check first when they work out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/driving-100-kilometers-in-an-electric-car-can-cost-just-2-or-3-euros-compared-with-10-to-15-euros-in-gasoline-a-difference-that-is-starting-to-hit-wallets-hard\/34956\/\">what an electric car costs to run<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Installation was no cheaper. The case study blames &#8220;the initial installation of the Curb Chargers and the associated minor installation errors&#8221; for the lack of savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New versions and a Welsh trial<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The Curb Chargers have already been successfully installed in many German cities, including Cologne, Neuss, D\u00fcsseldorf and Dortmund, and are currently being installed in others,&#8221; Rheinmetall said in June 2026. Its subsidiary Pierburg presented a cast-iron model and a flush-mounted version for &#8220;delivery vans, short distance lorries and other fleet vehicles.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council in Wales has asked residents without off-street parking to join a small pilot. It says &#8220;a support tool is available for residents with mobility challenges.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The full study was published in 2025 by the project partners as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rheinmetall.com\/Rheinmetall%20Group\/Systeme%20und%20Produkte\/Mobilit%C3%A4t\/Ladebordstein\/Downloads\/Case-study-Curb-Charger-EN.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Curb Charger case study<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On price, the Welsh council is still waiting. &#8220;We are currently in the process of selecting a charge point operator partner, so we are unable to confirm the cost of charging at this stage,&#8221; it says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Photo: Rheinmetall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Four curb chargers on Klosterstrasse and D\u00fcrener Strasse in Cologne logged 2,829 validated charging sessions in 329 days and were &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Cologne tested a curb charger that hides a 22-kilowatt EV socket inside a standard-size curbstone, logging 2,829 charging sessions with over 99 percent availability, and installation still cost about the same as a charging post\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/cologne-tested-a-curb-charger-that-hides-a-22-kilowatt-ev-socket-inside-a-standard-size-curbstone-logging-2829-charging-sessions-with-over-99-percent-availability-and-installation-still-cost-about\/52073\/#more-52073\" aria-label=\"Read more about Cologne tested a curb charger that hides a 22-kilowatt EV socket inside a standard-size curbstone, logging 2,829 charging sessions with over 99 percent availability, and installation still cost about the same as a charging post\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":52072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mobility","resize-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52073"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52285,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52073\/revisions\/52285"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}