Germany steps up installation of charging infrastructure to become "lead market for electromobility"

Germany is to accelerate the expansion of its electromobility charging network to facilitate the switch to electric vehicles, transport minister Volker Wissing (FDP) announced after presenting the country's second Charging Infrastructure Masterplan. The plan approved by cabinet sets a roadmap to make charging electric vehicles easier, faster and more comfortable. “Everyone expects Germany to become the lead market for electromobility. We are not just any automotive location, but a leading one in the world,” Wissing said during a press conference.

The original masterplan was first introduced in 2019 and has led to just under 70,000 publicly accessible charging spots being installed in Germany. With its second iteration, the transport ministry has set out a roadmap of almost 70 measures to be implemented in the coming years to achieve the country’s target of installing one million charging points by 2030. Focus areas include a closer integration of electromobility and electricity grids; the development of charging infrastructure for heavy-duty vehicles; a quick and unbureaucratic allocation of necessary space; and mobilisation of private investment. Charging infrastructure should cover a wide area and be demand-oriented and user-friendly, Wissing said. The masterplan was criticised by energy industry association BDEW, which said charging points alone won’t be enough to achieve climate targets in the transport sector, while green electricity provider LichtBlick denounced the fact that up to 90 percent of all charging points are in the hands of one provider, meaning “local monopolies” could control the prices and discriminate against competitors.

Germany has set itself the goal of significantly reducing its greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector by 2030 to 85 million tonnes of CO2 per year. Additionally, the sector has to reach a share of 32 percent renewable energy by 2030. To achieve this, the country aims to have 15 million fully electric passenger cars on its roads by 2030, for which the supply of e-cars and a lack of charging points pose the biggest challenges. The European Parliament has also approved new regulations for alternative fuelling infrastructure, stipulating that charging stations should be available every 60 km for cars and every 100 km at most for heavy goods vehicles along major European roads by 2026. In addition, hydrogen filling stations should be located every 100 kilometres by 2028.