Charging infrastructure of the future: e-cars: How effective are fast chargers?

The expansion of the charging infrastructure in Germany is essential.

Charging infrastructure of the future: e-cars: How effective are fast chargers?

The expansion of the charging infrastructure in Germany is essential. Because the production and demand for electric cars is increasing. According to studies, so-called "fast chargers" should be able to cover the higher charging requirements in the future. But there are still discrepancies between industry and politics regarding the need-benefit factor.

Many German drivers are still skeptical about e-cars. However, according to a survey by the online portal Mobile.de, more than half of them would be willing to switch if the car could drive at least 500 kilometers. The current ranges are only sufficient for 1.6 percent of those surveyed.

Drivers also want faster charging of e-vehicles and a better developed charging infrastructure. Only 30.1 percent would reject the change despite ideal conditions. Therefore, expanding the range of charging stations and increasing the charging speed is all the more important so that electric vehicles can become even more important and popular in the future.

There are currently almost 21,000 charging stations in Germany, 3,200 of which are fast charging stations. Together they have over 42,000 charging points. By 2030, however, 15 million electric cars are expected to be on the roads. According to a study by the National Charging Infrastructure, 440,000 public charging points must be available by then. But things are progressing.

In the first half of 2021, 367,905 electric vehicles were registered. This already corresponds to a market share of 22.6 percent. This puts the electric drive ahead of the diesel, which has a market share of 22.2 percent. However, the number of charging stations has not increased correspondingly quickly. So there are still 20 e-cars for one charging point. However, queues at the charging stations are not to be feared, as most charging does not take place at public charging stations. On the contrary: 54 percent of e-car drivers recharge their vehicles at a charging station at home and 19 percent directly at work. This factor should not be ignored, because oversupply with public charging points does not make sense either.

According to a study by the environmental association Transport

According to experts, a new strategy should be pursued in order to expand the range of charging stations and thus increase the acceptance of e-cars among drivers. A study by the Agora Verkehrswende think tank came to the conclusion that the focus should be on fast chargers in public spaces. Particularly fast direct current charging stations are used most sensibly in busy places such as supermarkets or shopping malls. Conventional, slightly slower charging stations, on the other hand, are more suitable for car sharing and other more specific applications.

Currently, alternating current columns with a maximum output of 22 kilowatts (kw) are mainly used in urban areas. However, there are already providers such as EnBW or Fastned who offer DC connections with 350 kW. According to Agora, this means that charging the electric car is almost as quick as refueling.


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