E-Cars: Germany plans mandatory charging points for gas stations

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Government wants to require gas station chains with at least 200 public locations to operate at least one e-car charging point with a capacity of at least 150 kW at each station by 2028. The plans are laid out in a draft bill by the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMDV) that the cabinet submitted to parliament on Wednesday. The new bill has been drawn to amend existing infrastructure laws.

Around a dozen companies will be affected by the change in the law. The major gas station operators have already started to equip sites with charging points on their own initiative. BMDV commented to heise online on the proposed legislation in February 2024 that these would be taken into account in the obligation.

An affected company may deviate from the requirements for a maximum of 50 percent of its petrol stations and set up a fast charging point either at a location within a radius of 1000 meters or additionally at another petrol station. Local conditions would be taken into account. In addition, a hardship rule is to apply in the event of economically unreasonable burdens.

"Expansion not yet comprehensive and heterogeneous"

Market leader Aral, which according to the Energy Information Service (EID) operated a good 2,200 of the 14,000 filling stations in Germany at the end of 2022, announced in September last year, for example, that it would install around 20,000 charging points with a charging capacity of at least 150 kW by 2030. Shell had just under 2,000 filling stations by the end of 2022, followed by TotalEnergies with a good 1,100, Esso with a good 900 and Avia with just under 900 filling stations. Shell works with ABB, for example, on charging technology. The legal requirement would not apply to operators such as Classi or Lother.

Although the fast-charging infrastructure at filling stations is already being expanded, "this has not yet taken place across the board and is regionally heterogeneous", according to the justification for the draft law. With their convenient locations, filling stations ensure the nationwide supply of fuel to motor vehicles. In addition, they would be considered familiar and attractive points of contact in everyday life. The BMDV expects the amendment to the law to result in around 8,000 additional fast-charging facilities. The companies would incur one-off costs of 432.1 million euros and an annual expense of 8 million euros.

Aral CEO Achim Bothe rejects the planned supply requirement. "This is reminiscent of a planned economy and does not work. We should concentrate on locations where we see the greatest potential for demand and use. So there will be charging points at many Aral petrol stations and other locations, but not every petrol station needs a charging point," he said.

"Petrol companies are fully committed"

Christian Küchen, Managing Director of the en2x association, in which 30 other oil companies are organized alongside Aral's parent company bp and Shell, told dpa that the petrol station companies are fully committed to developing the charging infrastructure. "They have been keeping pace with the nationwide expansion rate for years. And they are building where it makes the most sense for e-car drivers: not only at filling stations, but also at supermarkets, on the roadside, at home and at work."

Küchen described a charging point obligation at filling stations as "pure symbolic politics". "At best, it would only lead to more bureaucracy; at worst, it would also be harmful to the climate. This is because expensive fast-charging stations would then have to be installed at locations where there is foreseeably little demand for charging power. Better locations would be neglected, as every euro can only be spent once."

According to the association, two thirds of all filling stations in Germany already have a fast-charging station within a radius of 5 kilometers. At around 370 highway service stations, almost 90 percent of all locations, there are 1400 fast-charging points available. This means that a charging station is not necessarily needed at virtually every major petrol station chain in Germany. However, the draft law states: "As of March 2024, only around 7 percent of petrol stations in Germany have fast-charging points with a charging capacity of at least 150 kilowatts."

"Main traffic axes and conurbations are not enough"

For André Berghegger, Managing Director of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, the planned supply requirement for filling stations is an important building block, as the areas for charging infrastructure are already developed and conveniently located. Exceptions for operators must be clearly limited. "Rural and possibly less lucrative locations must therefore not be able to be replaced to a large extent by charging points in conurbations." It is not enough if fast-charging points are only set up on the main traffic routes and in conurbations.

For the ADAC, the supply requirement is "a major intervention in the market". However, many flexibilities are planned, so that the legal requirement is justifiable. From the consumer's point of view, petrol stations are particularly well suited as a place for fast charging.

The German government is aiming for 15 million electric cars to be registered in Germany by 2030. According to figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority, there were around 1.4 million at the start of 2024. According to the BMDV, just under 22,000 of around 115,000 publicly accessible charging points were fast-charging points in April 2024.

(anw)