E-cars
Federal government plans to make charging stations mandatory for petrol station chains
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds the plug of an electric charging station at the Statkraft stand at the Hannover Messe in spring
© Moritz Frankenberg / DPA
According to the federal government, there are too few fast charging stations at petrol stations. This is to be changed by law in the future. The industry rejects compulsory charging.
More fast charging stations at petrol stations: According to plans by the The federal government will provide better infrastructure in the future. According to this, large petrol station chains in Germany will be obliged to build fast-charging stations in the future. The federal cabinet plans to introduce a corresponding change in the law on Wednesday.
The supply requirement stipulates that companies with at least 200 filling stations must operate at least one publicly accessible fast-charging point with an output of at least 150 kilowatts at each filling station from January 1, 2028. The mineral oil industry association en2x criticized the plans.
Specifically, about a dozen companies are affected
Specifically, around a dozen companies are expected to be affected by the obligation, according to a paper from the Ministry of Transport, which the German Press Agency has seen. The existing companies will be taken into account. With a view to the ramp-up of electromobility and compliance with climate protection targets in transport, it is important to provide an efficient charging infrastructure across the board.
To justify the petrol station supply requirement, the draft law states that the expansion of fast-charging infrastructure at petrol stations has already begun. “However, this has not yet been done across the board and is regionally heterogeneous.”
Reference is made to the importance of petrol stations. “On the one hand, petrol stations with their convenient locations ensure the supply of fuel to motor vehicles throughout Germany. On the other hand, they are seen as familiar and attractive points of contact in everyday life.” Petrol station companies should therefore increasingly offer charging current in addition to fossil fuels.
Mineral Oil Industry Association: Symbolic politics of the Federal Government
According to the draft, the supply requirement will result in an additional 8,000 new fast charging points. According to the ministry, as of April, of the approximately 115,000 publicly accessible charging points, there are almost 22,000 fast charging points.
The managing director of the mineral oil industry association en2x, Christian Küchen, told the dpa that the petrol station companies are fully committed to building up the charging infrastructure. “For years they have been keeping up with the nationwide pace of construction. And they are building where it makes the most sense for electric car drivers: not just at petrol stations, but also at supermarkets, on the side of the road, at home and at work.”
A requirement to have charging stations at petrol stations would be “pure symbolic politics,” says Küchen. “In the best case, it would only lead to more bureaucracy, and in the worst case, it would also be harmful to the climate. Because then expensive fast-charging stations would have to be set up at locations where there is foreseeable little demand for charging power. Better locations would be neglected because you can only spend every euro once.”
According to the association, two thirds of all petrol stations in Germany already have a fast charging station within a 5 kilometer radius. There are 1,400 fast charging points available at around 370 motorway service stations, almost 90 percent of all locations. So there is not necessarily a need for a charging station at virtually every major petrol station chain in Germany.