Amsterdam firm bets big on electric car fast-charging stations

The Dutch company FastNed is trying to make it possible for electric cars to charge along the highway within half an hour with so called fast-charging stations. After a hesitant start, everything is now moving quickly for FastNed. Every week the construction of a new station starts. And their pace is so high that every week a station is completed. This week the 13th station is ready - Knorrestein, along the A12 near Zoetermeer. The stations are very recognizable with yellow arches and a battery of solar panels that serve as a roof. FastNed promises that by the end of this year nationwide coverage will be in sight. FastNed was founded by Michiel Lagezaal and Bart Lubbers a few years ago. It is a small company with the feel of a start-up. They have eighteen people working at their headquarters in Amsterdam. Lubbers, the son of the former prime minister, compares the breakthrough of the electric car with the advent of digital cameras. "No one has photographic film anymore. So it will go with cars too. In time almost everyone will by driving electric and we are responding to that. We will become the new Shell." FastNed still has a lack of money. "Roughly one third of the 400 thousand shares were sold to believers. These are people who believe in our company and our plans. Now it's up to us to convice investors and find investors. We are working hard on it. We need 40 million euro."