Charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles: VDA provides recommendations

The insufficient speed in the expansion of the charging infrastructure threatens to become the decisive bottleneck for the ramp-up of electromobility. The Federal Ministry of Transport is currently working on a master plan for charging infrastructure, an action plan with measures for the development of public and private charging infrastructure in Germany. With its position paper "Master Plan Charging Infrastructure 2.0 - Recommendations of the Automotive Industry," the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) makes concrete proposals for the expansion of charging infrastructure in Germany and Europe.

Monitoring is crucial

The VDA states that it is crucial, on the one hand, that the speed of expansion of the charging infrastructure proceeds proportionally to the ramp-up of electromobility, and on the other hand, that the expansion stays two years ahead of demand. Only in this way can the existing gap between infrastructure and demand be closed, and consumer confidence in a reliable and sufficient charging infrastructure be established. Of central importance is the consistent monitoring of the expansion goal of 1 million charging points by 2030 and, if needed, an appropriate (re-)alignment of funding.

In its position paper, the VDA recommends, among other things, the following measures:

• Continuation of the National Control Center for Charging Infrastructure (NLL) and its mandate with overall coordination (needs analysis, planning, monitoring, specifications)
• Booster funding: 5 billion euros for the expansion of public and private charging infrastructure by 2025, aligning with the previous government
• Coverage of all usage areas from home/workplace to on-the-go with attractive funding programs (seven use cases VDA/NLL/National Platform Future of Mobility)
• Extended funding of charging infrastructure in the commercial sector
• Relaunch of the wallbox program to promote private charging points at home
• Establishment of a semi-annual "Charging Summit" with relevant stakeholders for a status review and steering of measures
• Definition and legal anchoring of municipal responsibility for ensuring demand-driven charging infrastructure. Establishment of control and advisory offices and their mandate. Support from the federal government, including initial funding and knowledge transfer
• Privileging of car/truck charging infrastructure analogous to planning acceleration in the expansion of renewable energies
• Reliable, fast, and comfortable reachability of a charging point and good area coverage
• Europe: Support for ambitious AFIR determinations (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation), including area coverage, equipment of TEN-T networks, and determination of charging power requirements

Focus on building an E-charging network for commercial vehicles in long-distance traffic

The Federal Government has also set an ambitious target for medium and heavy trucks: By 2030, there should be an electric mileage share of over 30 percent. So far, the establishment of a corresponding truck charging network has received inadequate attention in the Federal Government's charging infrastructure efforts. In Europe, 30,000 electric trucks are expected by 2025 and 200,000 electric trucks by 2030. The VDA therefore recommends:

• "Germany Network for Trucks": Building charging infrastructure on long-distance traffic routes with high-performance charging points for the charging needs of heavy commercial vehicles and coaches according to the standard for megawatt charging (MCS; at least 700 kW continuous power per charging point), call for tenders analogous to the car charging network
• Consideration of specific truck charging needs in the further planning of the car Germany Network, inclusion of charging needs in network demand planning
• Promotion of charging infrastructure in the commercial sector with the use-case depot charging (depots and transfer points) for E-trucks
• Support for the operation of electrified commercial vehicles with appropriate infrastructure programs (including charging parks, power connections)
• Inclusion of the needs of electrified light commercial vehicles in the scope of consideration and initiation of corresponding funding programs

Bidirectional charging (Vehicle to Grid) cannot replace an ambitious grid expansion; nevertheless, it may be useful to utilize it for grid relief. This potential should be harnessed, and the necessary prerequisites should be created, says the association. In its position paper, the VDA recommends, among other things:

• Introduction of dynamic network charges to avoid load peaks and compensate for renewable energy feed-in peaks through local flexibility to achieve a more efficient use of existing network capacities
• Creation of a legal framework for bidirectional charging, including adaptation and adequate consideration in the Energy Industry Act and the creation of an independent definition of "mobile storage"
• Improving the efficiency of transmission networks: Mobile storage should be able to compensate for fluctuations in the control energy market by providing system services

A comprehensive and powerful charging infrastructure is and remains the key to the success of e-mobility – this applies to the car sector as well as to commercial vehicles. The Federal Government must promptly invite to a Charging Summit and bring all stakeholders to the table: gas station operators, the housing industry, parking companies, retailers, charging point operators, the energy industry, grid operators, the Federal Network Agency, the logistics sector, municipalities, and the automotive industry. We must jointly develop a concrete plan on how to accelerate the expansion and make charging easy and comfortable for people. (VDA President Hildegard Müller)

You can find the position paper "Master Plan Charging Infrastructure 2.0 - Recommendations of the Automotive Industry" in our attachment.