22.05.2024

The charging infrastructure for electric cars in Europe needs a serious boost

22 public charging stations for electric cars. That's how many need to be installed weekly to meet the 000% CO2 emissions target for cars and vans by 55. But EU countries are lagging behind, with just 2030 installed last year.

This is written in position c Euractiv Sigrid de Vries, Director General of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), representing 15 major European manufacturers of cars, vans, trucks and buses.

The drive to switch to electric vehicles (EVs) is a key point in the EU's road transport decarbonisation strategy. With ambitious targets to reduce CO2 emissions from cars and vans by 55% by 2030 and 100% by 2035, the mass transition to electric vehicles is not a choice – it is a must.

However, simply setting targets without prioritizing the construction of charging stations is not a smart decarbonisation strategy. Europe lags far behind in the deployment of public charging stations. Today they are only around 630, far less than the 000 million needed by 3,5 according to the European Commission's estimate.

However, this figure is at the lower end, a fact recognized by the Commission. More realistic projections predict the need for 8,8 million charging points by 2030.

Regardless of the forecasts, the message is clear – EU member states have less than a decade to meet ambitious decarbonisation targets, and infrastructure building is simply not keeping pace.

Charging infrastructure has a social dimension

The current charging infrastructure in the EU is insufficient not only in scale but also in distribution. Many countries, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, are drastically underserved. In fact, almost two-thirds of the charging points in the EU are concentrated in just three member states – the Netherlands, France and Germany.

This imbalance threatens the EU's founding principle of cohesion and risks creating inconsistencies in how citizens can participate in and benefit from the green transition. Disproportionate concentration in urban and affluent areas can also lead to a significant imbalance in EV adoption levels across regions, exacerbating social and economic disparities.

Europe must also do a better job of adapting infrastructure deployment strategies to local conditions and needs. Installing new charging stations in congested urban areas (where congestion is a problem and parking is in short supply) requires a different approach than electrifying rural and remote areas.

Current data clearly shows that the regions with the highest share of battery electric cars on the road also have the highest number of charging points per 1000 inhabitants and per 10 km of road.

The number of stations is not the only problem

Each station requires not only space and equipment, but also integration with a power grid that was never designed to handle such a concentrated load. Burdensome and lengthy permitting and planning permission rules are major barriers to faster installation.

The same applies to the capacity of the existing electricity network. Substantial grid upgrades are essential to expand EV charging stations and increase the renewable energy mix, but this comes at a cost – a huge investment of €240 billion by 2030. Energy companies must also get on board with the transition.

Fortunately, we are not starting from scratch – the construction of charging point infrastructure in the EU has increased sixfold since 2017. And importantly, the installation of private charging points at home, logistics depots and office parking spaces is also increasing.

Yet the scale of the challenge means that the pace of deployment of public charging points must accelerate if the EU is serious about making electric cars a practical reality for all Europeans within the next five years.