Norway has 14 times fewer inhabitants than Germany, but more electric charging stations. The Netherlands has only twelve percent of the area of Germany, but provides the electric car driver with around four times as many charging stations. France and Great Britain also have twice as many charging stations as we do.
The latest figures amount to almost 6.500 publicly accessible charging stations, including around 150 quick chargers that can be controlled in Germany. Statisticians have calculated that there is an average of one pillar every 111 kilometers. For comparison: The Dutch come seven kilometers. If things continued at a similar pace, we would have around 2020 pillars by 14.000. That is light years away from the target of 70.000 that the National Platform Electromobility (NPE) issued.
Three years ago, the German federal government announced loudly that our country should become the leading market for electromobility. After all, in mid-May, the response was now in favor of funding. 300 million euros should flow into the construction of the public charging infrastructure. Experts agree that, in addition to the expensive purchase price, a patchy supply network also restricts the spread of electric cars. "Buyers are kind of scared to stay somewhere with an empty battery," says Stefan Bratzel, head of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch Gladbach.
But who is responsible for expanding the store network? The policy that sets the goals? And do we really need such a dense network of charging stations? According to surveys with owners of electric vehicles, over 80 percent of them charge at home and adjust their driving profile so that it does not start with a half-empty battery. Jürgen Schenk, head of e-mobility at Mercedes, even believes that there will be an oversupply of charging stations in Germany in just a few years. “Thanks to advances in battery technology, we will achieve electrical ranges of over 2020 kilometers in 500. The driver then only needs fast chargers along the highways. ”
A normal charging station costs around 10.000 euros today, a fast charger with direct current more than three times as much. This means that money cannot be earned from electricity sales in the medium term. It is not surprising that things are getting tough. The car manufacturers are also having a hard time with the topic and do not see themselves as obliged to ensure that the charging infrastructure is expanded. And there should not be an island solution like Tesla, which offers its customers exclusive columns and free electricity. Mercedes man Jürgen Schenk: "We don't think this is expedient."
In addition, there is no overriding regulation. "Everyone cooks their own soup," says Stefan Bratzel. Municipalities usually determine a strategically sensible charging point and have the pillars operated by energy suppliers. In turn, the e-driver must register with them. He receives a customer card with which he can then conveniently load. An app on the cell phone shows him which pillar is where and which is free. The problem is areas that overlap or in which different providers provide pillars. Either the driver also registers with other operators or he stands in front of a locked pillar. We are not familiar with this system in the familiar diesel and gasoline market. There is fuel for every driver at every petrol station, regardless of brand. Occasionally there is the possibility to charge "foreign" according to the roaming principle as with mobile phone tariffs. Or the customer sends a code to the electricity provider via SMS. However, it should be noted here that steep surcharges are sometimes required, which can make the kWh price more than 50 percent more expensive. Unacceptable and a brake on the spread of electric cars.
"It is time to strive for non-discriminatory access to the e-filling stations too," says car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer. The head of the CAR Institute at the University of Essen-Duisburg is certain that only when all electricity providers can deliver their customers their electricity at any price to any public charging station will this result in more transparency and will electromobility pick up speed.
RWE is currently the largest provider in the power grid with over 1.700 charging points in Germany. This is followed by EnBW, E.ON, Vattenfall and EWE. All groups offer their customers green electricity from 100 percent renewable sources, both at the charging stations and at home using a special wall box. The so-called Menneke connector, officially called Type 2, has become established in Europe. It is designed for charging currents that occur at a maximum output of up to 22 kW. Buyers of electric cars should first make sure that their vehicle has the appropriate facilities for high-voltage charging on board. Even a premium manufacturer like BMW charges a hefty surcharge for its 35.000 euro carbon electric small car.
In any case, surveys of electric vehicle owners have shown that the constant handling of the charging cable is "annoying", especially in bad weather and in winter. This disadvantage is particularly evident in plug-in hybrids. Because the batteries have to be recharged almost every day due to their short range in order to take full advantage of the consumption benefits, inductive charging (unplugged) should be promoted. In principle, it works via magnetic coils as with the electric toothbrush. The car is parked on an induction plate (primary coil) sunk into the floor. The corresponding counterpart (secondary coil) sits under the vehicle. Electricity now flows without contact. Currently, powers of up to 3,6 kW can be transmitted with an efficiency of more than 90 percent. Mercedes plans to offer this charging principle in the S-Class next year. Likewise BMW, which were involved in the development.
Nissan goes one step further. Together with the renowned architecture and design office Foster & Partners, a mobility vision was created in which the e-car itself becomes a charging station. In the Nissan world, all autonomous e-vehicles look for an inductive parking space in a so-called “smart street” at night, are charged with electricity generated from renewable sources, park independently to enable other e-cars to charge and stand for the next morning the ride ready for work. (Michael Specht / SP-X)