FC Bayern ‘drive’-ahead sustainability goals

Article posted by Coliseum, September 6^th, 2024

Image: FC Bayern Muenchen

Committed to keep its sustainability flag flying high and always vouching for clean energy, the Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich will set up a high-power charging ‘HPC Charging Hub’ for eTrucks and eBuses in front of their home ground – the Allianz Arena in Munich, Bavaria (Germany).

‘FC Bayern München’ stated that the top-flight will build the ‘HPC Charging Hub’ in collaboration with its partner MAN Truck & Bus under the slogan ‘First Mover’.

The FC Bayern Munich, commonly known as Bayern Munich or FC Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria (Germany). They are best known for their professional men’s association football team who play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system.

The Allianz Arena is a football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely known for its exterior of inflated ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) plastic panels, it is the first stadium in the world with a full color changing exterior.

Munich (Germany)-based MAN Truck & Bus is one of Europe’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers and providers of transport solutions. The product portfolio includes vans, trucks, buses, diesel and gas engines as well as services related to passenger and freight transport.

‘FC Bayern München’ further stated that the Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder will be the Patron of the above project which will see the record holder for most Bundesliga titles (FC Bayern) make their stadium space available for megawatt connections. Thanks to Allianz Arena’s 100 percent use of Green electricity, the charging hub will be even more climate-friendly.

At the same time, a contract extension has been reached with MAN, FC Bayern’s partner since 2008, until 2027. As part of continuation of this partnership, it has been agreed that FC Bayern’s first team will travel to the Allianz Arena in an electric team bus from 2026 onwards, at least for the home matches.

Observed Jan-Christian Dreesen, FC Bayern head honcho, “Our society faces huge challenges, particularly when it comes to protecting our environment and the planet. For us, the public charging hub for the commercial vehicles is a continuation of our efforts to manage the Allianz Arena in an increasingly climate-friendly way. It is the next step in a constantly evolving environmental program that has been producing the desired results for the past many years. Everybody is in a win-win situation with the above project: FC Bayern, MAN, the society, and, most importantly, the planet.”

Maintained Michael Diederich, FC Bayern Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO), “The above project holds great significance for us and I cannot think of a better partner to successfully implement the same than MAN. Two strong entities from Bavaria are ‘driving’ into the future in innovative ways making an important contribution to electrification and climate neutrality in coach and lorry transport. The charging hub sets a new benchmark for Green initiatives in football and demonstrates the power of a longstanding, powerful and progressive partnership.”

Added Alexander Vlaskamp, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MAN Truck & Bus, “The Paris climate goals can only be achieved through consistent decarbonization of the vehicles. Already by 2030, the plan is to go in for the major production of electric trucks. The charging infrastructure is key to this which is why we are very happy to be partnering with FC Bayern.”

Put in Markus Söder, Bavaria Minister-President: “E-mobility is making progress: The construction of a public charging hub for trucks and buses at the Allianz Arena in Munich has begun. Bavaria is striding ahead when it comes to clean energy initiatives. We are the nationwide leader in electric charging points and are continuing to expand the network. We need to deploy cutting-edge technology in order to achieve our climate goals.”

The Allianz Arena is situated by the Munich-North motorway junction. Up to 10,000 lorries negotiate the motorway every day making it one of the busiest motorway junctions in Germany. A total of 30 charging points will be built in three phases of construction allowing up to 500 electric buses and trucks to be charged outside the Allianz Arena every day on non-matchdays.

The European Union (EU – a supranational political and economic union of 27 Member-States that are located primarily in Europe) is demanding a 90 percent reduction in current CO₂ emissions from heavy commercial vehicles by 2040 and the electrification of commercial vehicles are seen as a crucial factor for emission-free, climate-friendly transport.

According to estimates made by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA – the main lobbying and standards group of the automobile industry in the European Union), around 55,000 high-performance and megawatt charging points will be required along the main long-distance transport routes across Europe by 2030. In this regard, the FC Bayern’s charging hub is an international flagship project in the development of a commercial vehicle charging network.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 380 member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue