The number of e-cars on the roads is constantly increasing. But the number of charging stations is lagging behind. According to the will of the EU Parliament in Europe, this should now change.
In the coming years, motorists should be able to find a charging station at least every 60 kilometers along the most important traffic routes in the EU. As the EU Parliament announced on Tuesday night, according to the compromise negotiated by negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU states, hydrogen refueling facilities should also be created every 200 kilometers.
“The number of electric cars has increased seventeen-fold since 2016, but the number of charging stations has only increased six-fold,” said Ismail Ertug, the SPD MP responsible for the negotiations in the European Parliament. With the compromise, ambitious goals for the electric and hydrogen charging infrastructure have now been negotiated. Sweden’s Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson emphasized that citizens no longer have to worry about finding charging points for their electric cars.
Legally Binding Goals
The CDU MP Jens Gieseke said: “We finally have clear and legally binding goals for the expansion of infrastructure throughout Europe.” In justified cases, however, there may be exceptions. As a communication from the EU Parliament shows, this is intended for very remote regions, islands and roads with very little traffic.
According to the information, the expansion targets initially apply to the so-called TEN-T core network. These are the most important main thoroughfares in the EU. In Germany, this includes numerous autobahns.
The new rules are based on a proposal by the EU Commission. The latter had presented the plans in the summer of 2021 as part of its “Fit for 55” climate package. This should reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Parliament and EU states would still have to confirm the compromise.
Map of the TEN-T network Information from the Ministry of Transport on TEN-T Communication from the EU Parliament of 19.10.2022
Source: Stern
