“We aim for the best and most reliable charging experience on the market,” said Caro de Brouwer, Director Network Development, “and bringing 16 chargers for cars and four for trucks to this impressive station at Gentbrugge is a huge step for electric freedom here in Belgium and across Europe. The E17 is a key travel, commercial and logistic corridor in Belgium connecting Antwerp to the north of France. By opening this site we are truly supporting an acceleration in the transition to electric driving in all segments, from car to truck. Fastned brings an easy and enjoyable experience with the fastest charging, right where drivers need it most.”
Welcome to Fastned Gentbrugge: our new flagship stations
On September 17, Fastned officially opened our largest-ever charging stations on Belgium’s E17 highway.
And it’s not just the biggest - Fastned Gentbrugge is our most ambitious and sustainable location to date, bringing Fastned’s vision of beautiful, full-service, zero-emissions service areas to reality.
When Fastned won the tender to place a charging station on the Gentbrugge location, it was a bare parking area - hardly a destination drivers wanted to spend time.
We’ve transformed a lonely patch of concrete into a spacious, green service area offering not only fast charging for cars and trucks but also a restaurant, 24/7 self-service shop, outdoor play area, picnic tables and well-maintained toilets and showers.
Fastned Gentbrugge is the service area you’ll want to visit: a natural pause in your journey, providing the charging, coffee, food and facilities that drivers need on this busy route.
Here we take a look at some of the features and services that make Fastned Gentbrugge a must-visit destination for travellers in Belgium and all across Europe - and get a few words from the Fastned experts who brought it to life.
The fastest and most reliable charging
Fastned Gentbrugge offers EV drivers 16 reliable and fast 400kW charging points on both the north and south sides of the E17 highway (32 in total). Underneath our iconic Solar Tree canopies and set within the peaceful environment we have created, drivers can rest easy and enjoy the station's amenities while charging for hundreds of kilometers in the time it takes to have a coffee.
These stations bring Fastned charging to the thousands of EV drivers travelling here each day, from daily commuters to holidaying families. The E17 highway forms a large part of the route to Paris from the Netherlands and Belgium - so you can travel between Amsterdam to Paris with just one enjoyable stop along the way. Fastned Gentbrugge makes it easier than ever to take longer road trips in your EV, with the best charging guaranteed.
Delicious food and quality coffee
Getting hungry or thirsty on the road? Fastned Gentbrugge has got you covered, with a fully staffed restaurant serving up fresh coffee and high quality food to keep you going until your journey’s end. There’s also a self-service shop selling all your favorites and a selection of healthy snacks. Driving through the night? No worries - the self-service shop is open 24/7 to keep you refreshed.
Our restaurant and shop are based in a beautiful, spacious building built with circular materials and constructed using ‘dry connections’ - meaning it’s better for the environment, as components are easy to disassemble and re-use at the end of life. It’s a space designed for comfort, light and relaxation - so come to charge, and stay for dinner!
Clean toilets and showers
Toilets at service areas aren’t always the best - so we’ve made sure Fastned Gentbrugge offers the most comfortable and hygienic facilities you’ll find on the highways. We’ve partnered with specialist restroom designers One Hundred Restrooms to bring their unique, secure and relaxing restroom areas to Fastned Gentbrugge, available for drivers and their families on the road.
“Our collaboration represents a powerful blend of our shared missions: to enhance well-being and support a smooth, stress-free journey,” said Marielle Romeijn, Co-founder and Chief Brand Office of ONE HUNDRED restrooms. “With these new Fastned restrooms, we’re proving that a restroom stop can be a moment of care, innovation and new energy.”
Fastned Gentbrugge continues the rollout of toilets at our stations in 2025, including across Belgium (link in Dutch). As well as toilets, Fastned Gentbrugge also offers clean, warm showers for those needing complete refreshment during their journey - perfect for hard-working truck drivers!
Charging for trucks
There are more and more electric trucks on the road - but heavy vehicles still make up around 25% of Europe’s road transport emissions. As well as cars and vans, we want to encourage truck drivers and companies to switch to electric. So we’ve put 4 CCS 400kW chargers at dedicated spots for trucks at Fastned Gentbrugge - two north, two south. The truck chargers are available on both sides of the highway, with a separate parking area accessible for any electric truck, whether the charging port is on the driver’s left or right.
From a slow start, the number of electric trucks in Belgium has increased seventeen-fold in only five years, adding to the many other trucks traveling on the E17 as cargo moves between France, Belgium and the Netherlands. As charging speeds improve and dedicated charging for heavy vehicles becomes more common, we hope Fastned Gentbrugge will show proof that it is possible to electrify the road transport industry across Europe.
Europe’s most sustainable service area
Our recent H1 Update showed that Fastned’s network powered electric drivers to go over 400 million kilometres during the first half of 2025 - helping avoid an estimated 73 kilotonnes of CO2 equivalent. But Fastned Gentbrugge goes further: an entirely electrically-powered site with no emissions from operations, including the kitchen and retail facilities.
Around the site, we’ve found ways to keep things green: we removed contaminated soil and used it to safely sculpt the new landscaped layout, and we installed a complete wastewater treatment system underground to ensure the station releases only pure clean water back into the environment. The ‘green roof’ on the retail building provides insulation and also captures rainwater which is filtered and used in the stations' restrooms.
Designed for people, not for cars
Fastned Gentbrugge is a place where travelers will enjoy spending time on their way towards their destination. Alongside our Solar Tree charging canopies - instantly recognisable from the highway - the site has been designed from the start as a spacious, green landscape featuring play areas and picnic benches. The gentle landscaping provides separation from the busy highway, and the greenery and beautiful flowers make Fastned Gentbrugge more like a park than a traditional highway service area.
Fastned’s modular approach to design and construction means we can make the best use of our locations and design them for maximum comfort and driver enjoyment. These stations show how the service areas of the future can look: large, spacious, green and relaxing, with charging for cars and refreshment for people.
The future of EV charging begins now
Fastned Gentbrugge isn’t just a place to charge. It’s an entirely new vision for what a rest area can look like, and it’s open now for everyone to visit - so jump into your car and come along for a look.
Fastned’s network continues to grow, with the ambition of 1000 stations by 2030. Fastned Gentbrugge shows how we’re about more than just ‘dots on the map’ - we want to provide the best available charging experience to everyone on the road, accelerating the transition to electric mobility.
Find your way to all charging locations
The powerful map in the Fastned app makes electric driving truly carefree.
Always find the nearest charging location anywhere in Europe - from Fastned and other providers - and know exactly what charging speed to expect at every stop. You can even check charger availability for Fastned stations. Did we mention it exports straight to your navigation app? Bye bye range anxiety!
See you there.
