Charging at home or on the go? Europe needs 6.8 million EV charging points by 2030 to meet its 'Fit for 55' goals. How are we doing? And are we focusing correctly on the balance between slow and rapid charging? With 90% of EV charging happening at home or work, Zaptec aims to make every kWh count.
By: Daniel Gwercher, Managing Director of Zaptec Germany.
To achieve ‘Fit for 55’—the EU’s goal of reducing CO2 by 55%—the EV Charging Masterplan estimates that up to 6.8 million EV charging points will be required by 2030, when 42.8 million EVs are set to be driving on European roads (1).
So, how are we going to get there?
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Europe ranked second in the world after China in 2022, with a total of 460,000 public slow charging points (up to 22kW) spread throughout its tapestry of nations (2). This does not include the large number of EV chargers installed in private homes.
Charging at home or at the office is generally the cheapest and most accessible option, with close to 90% of global EV charging stations located at home or close to the workplace (3). However, as the market penetration of EVs increases, it’s imperative to accommodate drivers who do not have the option of at-home charging with an infrastructure of destination chargers at places like public transport stations, local shopping centres, cinemas, restaurants, and parking lots.
Building developers and site managers must also design apartment complexes and urban areas with charging infrastructure in mind to reach the EU Commission’s suggested average of one recharging point per 10 cars (4).
Level up
But what about the impact more EV charging points will have on the power grids?
That’s where smart charging comes in. Smart charging is a simple solution to a complex problem. And it goes beyond app connectivity or WiFi. At Zaptec, we provide future-ready smart chargers that allow the vehicle to charge during off-peak hours when consumption and prices are low, relieving some of the pressure on both the grid and your wallet. With our dynamic phase balancing patent, multiple vehicles can efficiently share available power between them – a perfect answer for public charging areas and congestion issues.
Smart charging is also a solution to price fluctuations caused by renewable energy advancements like wind and solar, which are naturally intermittent energy sources.
When it comes to EVs and charging, it really is a chicken-and-egg situation. Are urban developers holding off on installing EV chargers due to slow EV adoption, or are drivers putting off buying EVs due to a lack of available charging points?
Evidence suggests the latter.
According to the IEA Global EV Outlook 2023, “[…] Growth in EV sales can only be sustained if charging demand is met by accessible and affordable infrastructure, either through private charging in homes or at work or publicly accessible charging stations.” (5). The EV Charging master plan suggests deployment will need to increase substantially to meet projected growth, going from about 2,000 public charging points per week in 2021 to over 23,000 per week in 2030 (6).
Planning ahead is paramount. After all, a charger in time saves nine. Charging sessions will be spread across home charging, infrastructure at the workplace and fully public charging. Looking at Europe, the average daily commute is 29km, according to a IZA (Institute of Labor Economics) paper from 2020 (7).
Ultimately, many people live in multi-family homes and building infrastructure for those is the most challenging aspect. In many cases hundreds of parking spots need to be electrified, and this requires not only smart integration, but systematic expansion and use of available electricity.
Property owners are not willing to fully invest in switching their entire parking infrastructure towards EVs yet. But there are options to start scaling with demand and to ensure a smooth transition. An underground parking infrastructure might have 100 parking spaces, but currently 20 EV’s.
In a recent study by ADAC in Germany in 2024, 57% of EV owners complained about complicated and problematic planning and organization stages when needing to get a charger installed within a multi-family home property. (8)
With scalable technology and sustainable growth, EV adoption and charging infrastructure will not only complement, but support each other towards the journey of a cleaner and greener tomorrow.