SOCAR aiming to install around 100 electric charging stations in Switzerland by 2028
BAKU. May 25 (Interfax) - The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) plans to install around 100 fast charging stations on key logistical routes in Switzerland by the end of 2027, the director of retail at SOCAR Energy Switzerland Matthias Eisenhauer said.
The company previously planned to implement this project by the end of 2026.
SOCAR is actively expanding its network of fast charging stations for passenger cars and trucks throughout Switzerland, Eisenhauer was cited as saying in a press release. By the end of 2027, it is planned that around 100 charging stations will be installed along the country's most important transit and logistical routes, he said.
The growing number of electric trucks is a strong market signal, he said.
SOCAR sees this as a clear demand for the decisive development of a comprehensive fast charging network for heavy transport, he said. According to Eisenhauer, when building fast charging facilities, the company use solutions such as battery storage systems.
Eisenhauer recalled that the first fast charging station for passenger cars and trucks was opened in May last year in Kolliken Nord.
On May 18, 2026, SOCAR Energy Switzerland opened its second fast charging station for electric trucks at the Fuchsberg Nord facility in the canton of Schwyz, he said. The existing diesel pump on the A3 motorway has been replaced with a 400 kW charging point for electric trucks. In addition, four charging stations with eight charging points for electric passenger cars, each with a capacity of 200 kW, are available, he said.
According to the company, the power supply at Fuchsberg Nord is based on a 625 kW battery storage system combined with a 200 kW grid connection, with a total charging capacity of 825 kW.
Without the energy storage system, the launch of this facility would have been technically impossible due to insufficient local grid capacity, Eisenhauer said. This approach demonstrates that powerful charging infrastructure is possible even at sites with limited grid connections. SOCAR plans to apply this model at other sites in the future. As at all SOCAR charging stations, exclusively green electricity is used at Fuchsberg Nord, he said.
SOCAR Energy Switzerland GmbH has a network of filling stations in Switzerland, operates tank trucks and product storage facilities, and is also active in the oil, electricity and hydrogen sectors.
In November 2011, an agreement was signed in Zurich for SOCAR to acquire shares in Ecco Schweiz GmbH. Overall, the purchase cost SOCAR $330 million, and the company then took control of, among other things, a retail petroleum products network of 170 filling stations. This network now has 200 filling stations.
In addition, the headquarters of the trading company SOCAR Trading is located in Zurich. In July 2023, SOCAR opened the first hydrogen filling station in Switzerland, Grauholz Sud.
