FRANKFURT, Feb 7 (Reuters) - German energy group E.ON said it entered a strategic partnership with Denmark's Clever to build a network of ultra-fast charging stations for electric vehicles in Europe, raising the stakes in a hotly contested part of the power sector.
E.ON and Clever plan to build stations with a capacity of 150-350 kilowatt (kW), which can recharge cars with a range of 400 kilometres within 20-30 minutes.
The first of these stations will be deployed this year, E.ON said in a statement on Tuesday, adding the group, which operates more than 1,200 charging stations in Denmark, was also in talks with further potential partners.
European power firms are keen to be chosen as the suppliers of a car consortium - consisting of BMW, Volkswagen , Ford and Daimler - to build a charging network in an attempt to break Tesla's sector dominance. (Reporting by Christoph Steitz)