It's Tuesday afternoon, 1:40 p.m. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere - or somewhere in the north of Brandenburg. Between Wittstock and Pritzwalk, very close to the A24. It's never busy here. Only not far from the Agip petrol station - which is also deserted at this time of the day - are there various cars. One could almost speak of a traffic jam. Nine electric cars gather around three charging stations. Usually there are four, but one of the fast charging systems from the operator Ionity is not working right now.
The mood is bad. At least for those who are waiting. Because they wait before they have to wait anyway. Before they can charge their battery for 40 or 50 minutes, they have to wait for the others to do it. This creates a traffic jam in the middle of nowhere. And frustration. Some will not leave this barren place for about two hours.
We are currently seeing scenes like this across the country. It's the holidays and with the holidays come traffic jams. But as if standing still on the freeway wasn't annoying and annoying enough. Anyone who has decided to drive an electric car must fear the double risk of traffic jams these days. On the motorway and in front of the charging stations. Hundreds of thousands of travelers are wondering: where are the pillars when you need them?
This question is valid. Finally, politicians are calling on citizens to switch to e-mobility. But she still owes the framework conditions for this. For normal times, the charging infrastructure on long-distance routes may be just about sufficient. However, now that the holidays have started, the traffic jam at the charging station is programmed.
The infrastructure must not only be prepared for everyday life. It must also exist in the peak periods. When, if not during these days and weeks of the year, will electric cars be used on long-distance journeys? How often does the normal user drive distances of more than 400 or 500 kilometers? Mostly on vacation. So now the infrastructure has to work. However, she doesn't.
The truth is: The expansion can no longer keep up with the e-car hype. The dynamic of new registrations continues unabated. More than 700,000 e-cars are now on the road in Germany. At the beginning of 2020 it was just 130,000.
The number of charging stations has just doubled since then. And even that value reads better than it is. Only a fraction of the stations are so-called fast charging points, i.e. columns that provide the cars with enough energy to continue their journey within an hour.
Most of the rest supplies electricity at a snail's pace. Nobody is willing to spend several hours at a charging station these days. The time of the idealistic e-pioneers is over. The people who buy electric cars today expect vehicles that are modern and suitable for everyday use.
Politicians have still not recognized the new realities of electromobility. In Berlin, people talk and argue about the amount of possible subsidies for the vehicles, while vague and pointless goals are being floated when it comes to infrastructure expansion.
The figure of one million charging stations by 2030 - currently there are around 60,000 - is cheap political populism. Nobody needs that many pillars. We need the right pillars in the right places.
After all, most consumers charge their vehicle at home or at work. The charging stations in the shopping street, on the town hall square or in front of the supermarket don't get us anywhere. The focus must now quickly be placed on the long-distance routes. There, the charging parks have to be built larger. There must be many more pillars there that provide fast energy.
Business understood that. Car manufacturers, energy suppliers and even the oil companies are stepping up their efforts and investments. But the local bureaucracy has so far been too slow for a quick turnaround in mobility. More than a million electric cars will be on the road in Germany next summer.
In vehicles that politicians in particular have suggested to them as ecologically without alternative. The Germans were and are willing to believe this message. Now the federal government has to deliver - and carry out the really important measures for the transition to the electric age.
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