Germany ramps up private infrastructure funding
22 November 2021
The German government aims to have 10 million electrically-chargeable vehicles (EVs) on the roads by 2030 as it strives to meet climate targets. Incentives and funding play a vital role in getting drivers to adopt EVs, with the country heavily investing in infrastructure as accessibility to charging points remains a key issue.
Accordingly, the German Transport Ministry has just published a new guideline, which will offer funding specifically for charging points found in employee parking spaces. Funding is also available for EV fleets used by companies and municipalities.
Meeting infrastructure needs
‘An estimated 60%-85% of all charging processes take place at home or at work,’ said Johannes Pallasch, spokesman for the management team at the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure.
‘This is why charging infrastructure must be created wherever cars are parked for a long time anyway. With the funding of charging infrastructure in the parking spaces of companies and municipalities, we are strengthening two important and highly sought-after use cases,’ he added.
From 23 November, companies and municipalities can apply for funding to set up a non-public charging infrastructure. It must be located on properties intended for commercial and municipal use or for employees parking.
€350 million funding volume
According to the funding guidelines ‘companies and municipalities that set up a non-publicly accessible charging station for charging commercial or municipal electric vehicles (fleet vehicles) and/ or for charging electric vehicles of employees’ of the company or the municipality are eligible to apply.
The government has made of €350 million in funding available for this programme. It will cover a maximum of €900 per charging point that should have a capacity of up to 22kW. Funding has been restricted to €45,000 for companies, while this rule does not apply to municipalities.
Around two-thirds of all new car registrations in the country are company vehicles, which is why the government is eager to cater for infrastructure needs for businesses.
‘We want to make it easier for companies and municipalities to switch to a climate-friendly fleet,’ said Andreas Scheuer, minister for transport and digital infrastructure. ‘That is why we are now providing convenient charging options at the workplace. Simply charge, anytime and anywhere: we have come a long way closer to this goal.’
The transport ministry said the new programme will make a significant contribution to existing funding programmes, such as the much-debated ‘Germany network’, which gives companies the opportunity to compete in a bid to operate around 900 fast-charging locations. The network aims to cover a basic supply of around 8,000 additional fast-charging points.
EV sales in Germany are booming, with the country recently hitting a major milestone as one million electric cars can now be found on the roads. Subsidy programmes, which saw an increase during COVID19, have helped boost demand. The government wants to make Germany a lead market for electromobility. The parties looking to form the next coalition government are planning to invest in many areas of mobility, including electrifications and infrastructure.
