Germany is undergoing an electrification wave. Pure EVs reached 300k at the end of 2020 in Germany according to the Federal Office for Motor Traffic (KBA). It doubled the amount in just 1 year. The goal for 2030 is 10M. In July 2021, there were approximately 45k public charging points according to the German grid regulator BNetzA. A total of 37,705 normal charging points, 3,500 with 11 kW and 28,000 with 22 kW, 6,395 fast-charging points (more than 22 kW) were registered, some older ones are not registered. This compares with almost 0 in 2010 with exponential growth really just starting in 2018. Since the wallbox subsidy, 600k private wallboxes were installed.

This total private charging points number is not available. German regulation plays a major role in this growth. The Federal and local governments have launched several subsidy programs, e.g. grants of up to 9k euros per purchased EV and 900 euros per purchased wallbox. Additionally, legislation changes like the laws Ladesaeulenverordnung, WEMoG, GEIG favour the electrification wave by establishing the right of and the mandatory installation of charging points at parking spaces. As we described in-depth in this article.But public charging infrastructure is growing too slowly for the German Governments’ goal of 1M public charging points by 2030.

The reason: The unprecedented need for fast approvals by the distribution grid operator for a grid connection or possibly upgrade, local authorities for construction projects and identifying suitable installation spaces. According to the German control centre for charging infrastructure, private charging will prevail at around 80% in the next ten years. Private and commercial sectors install mainly AC 11/22 kW charging stations, but fast-charging DC systems can be required in some cases.The trend in public space is towards DC systems (CCS set as a standard by the European Commission, CHAdeMO will be less common in the EU), which offer very high charging capacities. They are very present on motorways, where users expect short charging times. 1000 extra stations with power over 150kW are to be built by 2023, doubling the current amount, according to the new law Schnellladegesetz. 150 kW up to 350 kW is the norm of very fast charging at the moment.

The number of providers and variety of charging stations has increased significantly. The market overview software Cosmix lists 750 models. More products mean lower costs and more applications. We have analyzed the technological differences in this article.Meanwhile, the installation of a charging box in private photovoltaic systems is almost a standard, as well as battery storage.

The new federal funding in Germany supports the switch to EVs to optimize the self-consumption of solar power. This trend will soon also be noticeable in commercial solar systems, especially since some federal states already have special funding programs for commercial charging stations.To benefit from the attractive wallbox subsidies, the product must be based on the controllability of charging solutions and the use of electricity from renewable sources. Also, thanks to the AC V2G technology, as already implemented by Hyundai and used by Volkswagen in their vehicles starting in 2022, EVs will benefit from a better integration in the energy system