'Showing the world the future'

Fastned unveils flagship charging plaza in Gentbrugge

Published on 2025-09-18 at 08:34

Het AWV wil nog meer dienstenzones in concessie geven als laadlocatie.

Fastned spared no expense in unveiling its largest charging plaza in Gentbrugge. As such, it should become the Dutch charging giant’s ‘Flagship’, and so it sounded confident: “here we want to show the world what the future can look like.”

“I had my eye on this service station back in 2019,” smiles network director Caro De Brouwer, as she also knows that some 26 million vehicles pass by it every year. “However, the Agency for Roads and Traffic (AWV) indicated at the time that they wanted to do a thorough overhaul of the site first, and then put it under concession in 2022. To us, that’s how it eventually turned out.”

The AWV’s intention was then also to make more of the site than the somewhat sad truck parking that it was, says also administrator-general Kathy Vandenmeersschaut. “It is the Flemish Government’s intention to have fast-charging infrastructure every 25 kilometres of the motorway network. Gentbrugge thus became the first concession with only charging stations. And then we do think it’s important that the concession holder thinks with us about how we tackle this challenge.”

Thinking shifted

Because thinking at its agency has also shifted, Vandenmeersschaut stated. “Slowly the realisation has grown that we also need to make zones with charging infrastructure pleasant, by providing toilets and other comforts, for example. And we also have to tackle the problem of fly-tipping in such places together.”

Fastned took up that challenge. On both sides of the E17, it provided 16 fast chargers of 400 kW for cars, 4 fast chargers for trucks, and in a building block tightly designed according to the Fastned image: a restaurant, a 24/7 self-service shop, play area, toilets and showers. “And all completely electric with zero emissions,” said Country Director Belgium Matthias Pletinckx.

1 million euros

Fastned pulled out all the stops for this project, investing around 1 million euros in the charging infrastructure. Both sites, accounting for some 8,000 square metres, were redesigned to provide shelter from the motorway, with lots of greenery and newly planted trees and flowers creating a pleasant place to rest during a long journey.

The two-storey restaurant and shop building was developed modularly. Parts of it, like those of the loading building, can be easily dismantled for reuse at the end of their lifespan. Circular materials such as bio-based insulation, recycled concrete and shells were used in construction. A purpose-built underground water treatment system ensures that nature remains untouched, while a green roof collects and reuses rainwater, including for flushing the toilets.

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That the whole thing also looks fresh and bright is not entirely coincidental. “Actually, it’s simple,” says De Brouwer. “If you reduce charging to an unattractive roadside box, you’re not going to convince people to drive electric. We need to turn the necessary evil that it seems into something that becomes part of your journey.” Location designer María García Mansilla laughs. “I’m only happy if the charging stop makes it to the holiday snaps.”

Full experience

“Now we can offer the full customer experience,” Fastned CEO Michiel Langezaal told us before the ribbon cutting. “Here we show what the future looks like, with a fantastic place where you can charge, order a good coffee or something tasty to eat, and be on your way again in a few minutes.”

And why turn out like this in Gentbrugge, Belgium, and not in homeland Netherlands? “Climate change knows no boundaries,” says the founder. “If you then get the chance from AWV to show the rest of the world the future, you seize it. And yes, the whole project demanded a hefty sum, but we believe in it. Within five years, we will turn a million euro turnover here, and then that investment will pay for itself.”

Teaming up with Vermaat

“We are not baristas,” Langezaal admitted earlier. “We believe in focusing on what we are good at: building fast-charging infrastructure.” Therefore, partners were sought for the retail part, while One Hundred Restrooms will take care of the toilets. “However, we did not want to just rent out an empty box to a partner, and then not have insights and figures shared,” says retail director Jasper Van Dijk. “So we started looking for a partner who wanted to develop the concept with us in a white label formula. That ended up being Vermaat, which is strong in catering for events, but equally strong in company canteens. They turned out to be the ideal partner for this approach.”

It is not intended that Fastned will now roll out such a large infrastructure everywhere. “Here we mainly want to learn what works and doesn’t work in such retail and shopping concepts,” Van Dijk echoes. “Gentbrugge is a blueprint for what service stations should look like in Flanders and Wallonia,” Pletinckx concludes. Vandenmeersschaut agrees with him. “This should become a model for other service zones, and let it be known that Waasmunster’s will be the next service zone to come under concession to be developed in such a way.

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This article was automatically translated from the Dutch language original to English (British).

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