Charging locations for e-mobility

Electromobility forms an important building block for achieving global climate targets. Statistics show that the market for e-vehicles is growing rapidly. The expansion of the charging infrastructure is also progressing continuously. Nevertheless, we often read and hear that the charging infrastructure is currently insufficient to keep up with the rapid growth in electric vehicles. Whether this claim is true, we clarify with Emma Costa Argemi - project manager of the Competence Center Technology and Electromobility at Bayern Innovativ.

Emma, why is the topic of electromobility so close to your heart?

Emma Costa Argemi: There are several reasons. On the one hand, I am convinced that electromobility can make a very big contribution to the environment and to a sustainable mobility of the future . On the other hand, I see again and again how emotionally this topic is viewed. After all, electromobility is part of the mobility turnaround and everything that has to do with change often arouses certain fears. That's why part of my work consists of reducing these fears or taking them away altogether.

Is it true that the expansion of the charging infrastructure is lagging behind the rising number of e-cars?

Emma Costa Argemi: If you look at the statistics of the last few months , it is indeed the case that new registrations of electric cars have grown rapidly and continue to rise steadily. By comparison, the number of new charging points is not climbing quite as fast. But that number in itself is not that relevant, because what matters is the actual utilization, that is, how often that charging infrastructure is used.
With the exception of a few cases - some high-traffic locations - we see that there are still enough charging points. We're a long way from congestion. But still, we see that the number of charging is increasing. That's why we need to put even more charging points on the roads, further expanding the public charging infrastructure .

Why is it that charging points are used so differently?

Emma Costa Argemi: To dive deeper into this topic, we have created a whitepaper on this. Because we can't answer the question in such a blanket way, as it is very situation-dependent. If you want to drive your car from point A to B, then it doesn't make sense that it takes, say, eight hours to recharge before you can drive on. It would be just as nonsensical to have to drive a detour of several kilometers until a charging station could be reached.
The result is that motorists are more likely to use ultrafast charging stations directly on the highway than they are in the city center. In other words, both the charging power and the location must be adapted to the respective charging needs. And what else we've found is that fast-charging stations are also very popular in supermarket parking lots.

But do you plug your e-car into the power grid specifically for a quarter of an hour or 20 minutes - as long as the shopping lasts?

Emma Costa Argemi: Yes, because that's a perfect match. Usually people take on average between 20 and 30 minutes shopping and during this time the car is anyway. So you can use this time well to recharge a few kilometers and get the distance home well. In addition, charging at the supermarket is usually still free of charge and makes the whole thing therefore additionally more attractive.

Are these 20 to 30 minutes actually enough to refuel so much that you can also cover a much longer distance afterwards?

Emma Costa Argemi: That varies depending on what kind of car it is and what the respective mobility needs are. For some, the charged electricity in the supermarket is perfectly sufficient for the whole week. Others, however, put their car additionally at home overnight still in the wallbox, connect it next to the road or the next day at their workplace.

Why do operators of supermarkets offer it for free? What advantage do they have from it?

Emma Costa Argemi: This is an extra service for the customers of supermarkets. These often go there specifically to charge the electric car for free, while they use the time to shop. But in the near future, when more and more e-cars are added, the electricity will no longer be available for free.

In the whitepaper, you also conducted a survey on how it looks like the charging locations are improving. What are the results?

Emma Costa Argemi: In the question "How satisfied are you with the current charging infrastructure?" it came out among the respondents that especially "third-party parkers" are a big nuisance. These are cars with an internal combustion engine that park in the parking areas for electric cars, thereby blocking the charging station spaces.
Another issue is the topic of price transparency. At the beginning of the charging process, it is not always clear how much will have to be paid in the end - this often results in surprises. In addition, the signage is also often not clear.
The biggest wish is to have more charging points, both slow and fast charging points. The slower charging points should be in all locations where parking occurs and cars are parked for a long period of time anyway. For example, in a park-and-ride system, there doesn't need to be ultra-fast charging stations , but there does need to be at highways. In our free whitepaper , the results can be read in detail.

Emma, how do you think e-mobility will develop?

Emma Costa Argemi: I have no doubt that e-mobility will be part of our future mobility and that we will see more and more electric cars on the roads. This means that new registrations will continue to increase and, as a result, we will get an increasingly dense and efficient charging network. A large proportion of the new generation of e-drivers may not have a charging option at home, meaning they will be much more reliant on good public charging infrastructure.
What we are already tending to see now is the increasing number of fast charging locations and also urban charging hubs. The latter are locations with different charging columns, including different charging capacities. These are primarily intended for people who do not have the option of charging at home or at work.

If someone wants to provide the necessary infrastructure, for example for their employees or for hotel guests, what options are there?

Emma Costa Argemi: Various funding options exist. Soon, for example, we have a promotional program for the tourism sector. However, this is not open to the public, but only for hotels as well as recreational facilities. Furthermore, there are also subsidies for public charging infrastructure in general in Bavaria. Here, too, there will be another call in the next few months. In addition, a funding program from the federal government is coming soon as well, and this is for the commercial sector. Best regularly inform on our website and contact our team gladly at any time with questions!

The interview was conducted by Christoph Raithel, Team Leader Event at Bayern Innovativ GmbH.

Listen to the full interview as a podcast: