E-car stations on motorways: not even a coffee while charging?

Dirty toilets, nothing to drink, nothing to eat: Hardly anyone wants to stop at unmanaged federal rest stops. But it is precisely here that many new e-charging stations are to be built.

E-cars are booming. The number of new electric cars on German roads grew by more than 80 percent last year. At the same time, the number of charging points only increased by 28 percent. The urgently needed expansion of the charging stations cannot be kept up. There are currently only around 52,000 public charging points in Germany for around 650,000 electric cars. They are particularly lacking on the motorway: you need more energy on long journeys, so you have to charge more often.

“Deutschlandnetz” for almost two billion euros

The federal government wants to help – with the “Germany network”. Costs for the taxpayer: more than 1.9 billion euros. By the end of 2023, at least 1,000 new fast charging stations are to be built: 800 to 900 in cities and municipalities, 200 directly on the motorway. But the way the plan for the “Germany network” looks at the moment, there could be a number of investment ruins along the autobahn. Apparently nobody asked the e-car drivers about their experiences and needs.

Petra Gottwald from Rüsselsheim has been driving fully electric for six years. The editor-in-chief of a specialist magazine for manufacturing technology travels a lot on the freeway for work. She drives around 40,000 kilometers a year in her electric car. This often demands patience, planning and waiting time from the technology-loving engineer. “It’s still a challenge to find charging stations over long distances.” There aren’t enough of them yet. “But I’m not giving up hope that there will soon be significantly more charging stations,” says Gottwald. The old federal government recognized the problem and advertised the plan for the “Germany network”. 200 new fast-charging locations are to be built on the Autobahn alone. The catch: only at the unpopular, unmanaged rest areas.

Exclusive rights for rest stop operators

The Dutch charging station operator Fastned is also taking part in the tender. The company has been building fast charging parks in six European countries for ten years and has analyzed the wishes of its customers in detail, as company spokeswoman Linda Boll explains: “You shouldn’t stand in the rain, you should be happy to be there, it should be brightly lit, you should have clean systems and you should ideally also be able to find a snack, a coffee and a clean toilet.” All things that are not available at federal rest stops. You can’t even buy food or drinks from vending machines. And according to the tender, it should stay that way.

on MrThe Federal Ministry of Transport reports the following question as to why no gastronomy may be offered in addition to charging stations at the federal rest areas: “The legal framework conditions are decisive for the type of services – such as the sale of food and drinks.” In other words, food and drinks may not be offered at the rest areas because the federal government has contractually assured the operators of rest areas that only they are allowed to do so.

Andreas Rehm, Managing Director of the company, which operates around 90 percent of all managed rest areas, emphasizes that it is the exclusive right of Tank und Rast GmbH to also offer catering in addition to fuel pumps and charging stations: “The legislature makes a conscious decision to distinguish between managed rest areas and unmanaged rest areas. And that distinction needs to be kept in mind.” Tank und Rast offers around 1,400 charging points at around 370 of its around 400 rest stops. The company not only dominates the market for combustion engine drivers, but also for e-car drivers on the highway.

Criticism from associations and competing companies

Companies charging station operators like Fastned do not want to accept that. Your demand: The tender must be improved. “For the success and attractiveness of e-mobility, it is essential that additional offers can be made in addition to charging,” explains company spokeswoman Boll. Adrian Zierer, Managing Director of the charging station builder Charge Construct from Ingolstadt, also calls for a more open tender: “Autobahn GmbH and the tender statutes prevent food and drinks from being offered at federal rest areas in addition to the charging stations.” Zierer continues to criticize: “Autobahn GmbH sees the charging solutions at federal rest areas as a last resort if drivers of electric vehicles can no longer make it to a ‘proper’ rest area.” Zierer knows what he’s talking about: Charge Construct has already set up charging parks for the industry’s market leaders.

Associations such as ADAC and AvD welcome the plans to expand the charging infrastructure. But there is also criticism. Malte Dringenberg, spokesman for the Automobile Club of Germany (AvD), fears that e-car drivers will not even be able to get through to the charging stations at many rest areas because they are repeatedly blocked by numerous trucks that can no longer find regular parking spaces: “The existing one The network of rest stops along the federal trunk roads has not kept pace with actual demand for decades and is clearly undersized.” The result: particularly in the evening hours and at night, service areas and motorway parking lots are full to the brim; Trucks that not only take up all available parking space, but also park on deceleration lanes and acceleration lanes. In many cases, it will be impossible for energy-demanding e-cars to get to the charging station.

Loading stop with toilet and gastronomy preferred

For e-car driver Petra Gottwald, the matter is clear: nobody wants charging stations without other offers on the motorway. Especially not at the dirty rest areas with often unacceptable toilets. “I can’t imagine stopping at a rest area like this to load. I’d like to have a coffee or water or eat a roll, and there’s nothing here. I could just sit in the car and wait until I’ve loaded.” , according to Gottwald. And it usually takes 30 minutes to load. If the charging stations are not accepted, there is a risk of investment ruins. In this way, the federal government could steer into a dead end when expanding e-mobility on the motorway.