E-cars
EnBW boss calls for speed in charging station procedures
According to its own information, EnBW operates the largest public fast-charging network in Germany with more than 650 of its own locations nationwide. Photo: Bernd Thissen / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
E-vehicles urgently need a good network of charging stations. However, the funding procedures sometimes take up to two years. Much too slowly, says EnBW boss Mastiaux.
The CEO of the energy company EnBW, Frank Mastiaux, has called for politicians to accelerate the approval process “maximum” when setting up the network of charging stations for e-cars.
In the funding process, it takes up to two years for funds to be released, Mastiaux said in an online event on Tuesday. “These are periods of time that simply do not correspond to the ambitious goals that we have set ourselves in our country.” He welcomed the planned halving of the process duration for infrastructure projects by the new federal government.
The occasion was the official commissioning of a new fast charging park with 52 charging points in Kamen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located near the Kamener Kreuz, where the busy motorways 1 and 2 intersect. According to EnBW, electric cars can be charged there with an output of up to 300 kilowatts. In five minutes, depending on the vehicle, a range of up to 100 kilometers is possible.
According to its own information, EnBW operates the largest public fast-charging network in Germany with more than 650 of its own locations nationwide. The company plans to operate 2,500 fast-charging locations by 2025. EnBW plans to invest around 100 million euros for this every year.
According to the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst (CDU), the system helps “ensure that people gain confidence that they can charge anywhere”. “The worries about getting stuck at some point are disappearing,” he said. A consistent expansion of the nationwide charging infrastructure is needed in order to successfully shape the traffic transition and mobility of the future in the long term.