Germany builds 1000 e-charging stations for electric cars on highways

Admin I Friday, Feb. 09, 2024

 

BERLIN – Germany plans to build at least 1,000 new fast electric vehicle charging points along motorways by 2026 under a new government contract awarded on Friday.

The deal is part of a broader long-term effort to have charging stations every 10 minutes along Germany’s motorways.

Transport Minister Volker Wissing said in a statement that the charging network will become noticeably denser.

“Our goal is for the nearest fast-charging station in Germany to be just a few minutes away,” Wissing said.

Autobahn GmbH, the state-owned company that manages Germany’s famed motorways, awarded the contracts to to Fastned Deutschland, E.ON Drive Infrastructure and a consortium between Autostrom Nord and TotalEnergies.

Michael Güntner, head of Autobahn GmbH, said that in order to cover long distances in an electric car, drivers must be able to recharge reliably.

Electric cars play a central role in the German government’s strategy to reduce emissions and reach climate targets in the transport sector.

The government has set a goal of 15 million electric vehicles on the roads by 2030, a tenfold increase from the roughly 1.5 million electric vehicles in Germany today.

Experts have questioned whether the target can be achieved, especially after Germany ended subsidies for electric vehicle purchases at the end of 2023 amid budget pressures.