DCC Energy, Able Mandal, Norway

2024 winner’s entry profile – ‘Best EV Hub in the World’ – Highway

Site information

  • Able Mandal is DCC’s mobility hub concept for the future, delivered by Certas Energy Norway AS (a DCC subsidiary).
  • New-build highway location in the South of Norway.
  • Site concept tailored to deliver a premier EV charging customer experience in a safe environment.
  • High-speed under-canopy charging facilities with spacious drive-through optionality for larger vehicles.
  • McDonald’s restaurant, high-end Deli de Luca convenience store with healthy food options, generous restroom area, spacious seating and outdoor recreational areas for families to rest and play.
  • Fully automated car wash offer.
  • Site layout dimensioned for private customers with separate forecourt for commercial/truck customers.
  • Opened March 2023 with traffic count instantly taking off.

At DCC and Certas, we aspire to be energy transition leaders. ‘Able Mandal’ is showcasing our latest thinking, inspiring our organisation, and aiming at inspiring the industry.

Company overview

Certas Energy Norway AS (Certas) is a DCC Plc subsidiary, a leading international sales and marketing company.

Certas is an energy company developing the service station sector in Norway based on the historic Esso retail network. Current network consists of 250 sites, connected internationally via Esso Card to 5,800 sites across Europe.

Annually welcoming ~30 million customers at our sites.

Performance is anchored in the core principles of Safety, Integrity, Partnership and Excellence.

Customer value proposition ranges from full-service Mobility Hub to stand alone EV chargers.

We partner with Norwegian convenience retailer “Deli de Luca”, delivering a premium convenience offer at all our attended sites in Norway.

We partner with Recharge (CPO) offering EV charging at 44 company owned sites, with network reach rapidly growing.

Certas deploys its core competencies in on-site operations aiming at delivering the best energy station experience to our mobility customers.

The ‘Able’ brand has been developed to power the energy transition, including investments in EV charging and renewable liquids fuels, such as HVO100 (renewable diesel).

Our EV journey

  • Customer value proposition extended to include EV charging in 2019.
  • Charging installations are adjacent to our high-end convenience offering including food and beverage options, with premium sit-down and restroom facilities.
  • Focus on visibility with prominent EV charger placement on the forecourt and/or at store-front for easy access to convenience offers and restrooms.
  • EV charging operations delivered by Recharge (CPO), linking our offer to the wider Recharge network of 2,600 charging locations in the Nordics.
  • Charging is easy with a charging token, charging apps or simply via card payment activated by a QR code available at each charging pole.
  • Charger capacity is minimum 150 kW. Early installations of 50 kW chargers are already being replaced to deliver a premium customer experience.
  • Electricity sold at our sites is always from 100% renewable sources.
  • The EV offer is visible in the Major Identification Sign on-site and in various digital wayfinding solutions and through EV payment apps.
  • On-site caretakers ensure a clean and well-maintained charging location.
  • Significant effort made to capture learnings and continuously improve the customer-oriented charging offer in the period since 2019.
  • EV speed to market initially challenged by permitting process delays in combination with supply chain capacity constraints.
  • Network now rapidly growing with EV installs at 44 company owned sites (YE 2023) in addition to 20 dealer locations.
  • Offer has evolved over time, targeting all new installations to improve accessibility with more spacious charging slots and easy to reach chargers.
  • Payment methods extended to include card payment option by NFC (‘tapping’), including retrofit program for existing locations.
  • Offer recently expanded into new locations, such as highway mobility hubs (Mandal) and city centre mobility hubs, and EV charging offer at grocery store parking.
  • Attractive/ prominent locations have easy access and are located along highways, main travel routes and in city centres and suburbs. Successful prospects meet the needs for both primary and secondary charging. Successful locations can be high density residential areas, destinations or natural ‘on the way’ locations.

Site overview

Able Mandal has been selected to represent our Mobility Hub concept with performance already proving the concept viability.

Plot size is 10,500 m2 with maximum deployment.

Customer safety and experience core to the site lay out, which features:

  • Separated passenger and commercial vehicle traffic flow.
  • Centre-piece placement of the EV charging offer.
  • Canopy covering the EV charging area.
  • Safe and clearly marked pedestrian walkways.
  • Ample restrooms facilities with accessibility features.
  • High-end extended adjacent offerings with food & beverage, ample seating, free Wi-Fi, recreational areas etc.
  • Outdoor activity and leisure areas for adults and children.
  • HVO (100% biodiesel) available at both commercial and private customer forecourts.
  • Fully automated car wash offer with water recycling equipment, significantly reducing water waste and consumption.
  • The under-canopy EV charging offer is conveniently placed in close proximity to the adjacent customer offers and services, with safe and easy access through clearly marked pedestrian walkways.
  • The McDonald’s offer includes both drive-thru and restaurant seating facilities in-store and outside. McCafé with barista coffee completes the offer.
  • The Deli de Luca convenience store complements the McDonald’s menu, with a wide selection of prepared food offerings including pizza, hot dogs and sandwiches, and salads and drinks with and without sugar content.
  • Seating areas are ample both inside and outside with high-end “American Diner” style seating in the Deli de Luca convenience store.
  • The restroom area is located indoors and consists of eight separate rooms including accessibility for disabled visitors and with the facilities available 24/7.
  • Play area for kids both inside and outside. Equipment to play and release energy is available, including an outdoor trampoline and a climbing frame.
  • The commercial vehicle driving pattern is intuitive based on physical obstacles and facilitates easy ingress, fueling and exit; leading to dedicated parking lots at a safe distance from the EV charging area, to protect pedestrians.
  • Parking spaces closest to the shops are reserved for HC accessibility users.
  • HC restrooms are part of the facilities and are available 24/7. Accessible via automatic doors.
  • Able car wash remotely operates subscription programs marketed via a proprietary Able mobile phone app.
  • Fuel offer is tailored for commercial and passenger car vehicles with separate fueling facilities.
  • Commercial vehicle facilities includes diesel, HVO and AdBlue.
  • Full range of passenger car fuel qualities marketed under the Esso brand including
  • Synergy Fuel Technology visual framing.
  • Commuter parking neighbours the site with short walking distance to the shops.

EV charging information

  • The EV charging offer includes 16 DC chargers and 30 AC chargers.
  • DC chargers are located under a well-lit canopy with easy entry/exit. Location is next to the shops for quick access to restrooms, food offers and leisure area.
  • DC charging system is based on a Kempower setup delivering up to 200 kW per charging pole.
  • The chargers meet Heavy Duty Vehicles requirements, but are mainly intended for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.
  • Underground installations are completed to enable further expansion of eight DC chargers, bringing total capacity to 24 DC chargers.
  • AC chargers are located in the commuter parking area, facilitating charging at a lower price point for customers with less time constraints (commuters using public transportation to work or to visit the city of Kristiansand).
  • Electricity is always sourced from 100% renewable sources.
  • EV offer is presented by the Able brand, equipment is operated by Recharge (CPO).

Payment and loyalty

Payment system is open-loop and the most flexible in Norway.

Available payment methods are:

  • Chips, various
  • Apps, various
  • Drop-in solutions

Card payments are activated via QR code for drop-in customers.

Offer extended to include card payment by NFC going forward. NFC rollout includes retrofit program for existing sites. The NFC reader also accepts ApplePay and GooglePay.

Pricing available in app and through the customer loyalty programs.

Rebates offered are part of loyalty schemes related to the various chips and apps available.

Utilisation rates, maintenance and uptime

Site’s operational capacity tested soon after opening. Strongest performing Certas EV charging site for six consecutive weeks during the 2023 summer vacation period.

  • Average charging session ranges from 24 – 28 mins/charge.
  • Average charging sessions per month 1,631 (Apr-Dec,  2023).
  • Uptime performance = 96,4% measured in seconds EV charger down.
  • Uptime performance remotely monitored by CPO Support Centre.
  • Maintenance organised by CPO, issues reported by on-site care takers.
  • Underground investments are key cost drivers and investment in above ground equipment has been carried out with customer availability in mind and with capacity to grow.
  • Space requirements different vs. fuel operations due to higher charging time.
  • Customer (longer) presence on site in combination with adjacent offers has been key to increasing the share of wallet from each customer visit.

Human health

Humans’ need to pause and recharge. We believe this represents the x-factor in where motorists will select to make their pit stop in the electric future.

So, what’s key in our view?

With us, safety comes first. The layout ensures safe conditions for everyone at the site.

Separating private and commercial vehicle traffic flow keeps the trucks at a distance from the charging offer and recreational areas. The McDonald’s drive-thru is located at the outskirts of the land plot. Speed bumps, prior to clearly marked pedestrian walkways and crossings, enforce low speed for those entering or leaving the parking area.

Restroom areas need to be available and clean. At Mandal we have eight separate restrooms with all facilities available 24/7. The area is located indoors and accessible via automatic doors.

Food offering includes healthy options, a key feature of the Deli de Luca convenience offer.
Ample availability of comfortable seating with a bit of space and privacy is a key feature we want to be known for at our mobility hubs. We also offer free Wi-Fi.

Recreational areas for kids and adults both inside and outdoors is another attribute. Customers can sit outside in the sun and enjoy a quality meal while the children are playing safely within eyesight. And the car is charging.

The playground area incorporates local culture in an interactive children’s playboard.
At Mandal, we have secured easy access to the forest area surrounding the site, with opportunities for an extended walk along the trail path.

Parking spaces closest to the shops are reserved for accessibility.

Sustainability

At DCC and Certas, we aspire to be energy transition leaders.

‘Able Mandal’ is showcasing our latest thinking, inspiring our organisation, and aiming at inspiring the industry.

Renewable liquid fuels are offered in form of HVO100 for both commercial and passenger vehicles. Infrastructure is in place to capture the rapid growth in renewable liquid fuels.
Renewable EV charging and customers re-charging is core to the offer, and the site is constructed with this in mind. Our electricity is always sourced from 100% renewable sources.

Building construction enables operational energy efficiencies, including shared facilities and water recycling.

Food waste is mitigated with ‘Too Good to Go’ in Deli de Luca, the mobile app which facilitates rescuing unsold food. McDonald’s produces made to order.

Plans to install rooftop solar panels and a high-capacity battery storage unit are underway. Electricity production can serve the EV charging offer, on-site consumption or sold to the grid.

Underground infrastructure in place for eHGV installation at the commercial forecourt. Above ground installations (charging poles) to be installed as soon as eHGV demand starts to ramp up.

With Able Mandal Mobility Hub, DCC and Certas are aiming at changing the way we travel. Changing the way we refuel, to a more sustainable one. The only way to reach our end goal is by seamlessly including people to be a part of the solution. Our ambition is not just to do better, but to inspire the industry to do better.