The federal government in Berlin has now received the green light from Brussels to provide financial support for the planned “Deutschlandnetz”, a fast-charging network for electric vehicles in urban, suburban and rural areas in Germany. Shortly before the end of the year, the EU Commission approved government grants for the project in the amount of 1.8 billion euros. The goal is to set up 8,500 fast charging points, where it should be possible to charge electric vehicles within 15 to 30 minutes. Around 900 locations in Germany are affected where there are currently no such charging stations or where the existing ones are not sufficient to cover the demand.
Aid will initially take the form of direct grants towards the establishment and later as ongoing payments to cover part of the running costs. The money is to go to companies that have experience in the construction and operation of e-charging points and that are applying for the relevant contracts as part of a tender.
The EU Commission hopes that the regulation will provide an incentive to push ahead with the expansion of the fast-charging infrastructure on a larger scale, because otherwise the necessary investments would fall by the wayside without public funding. Germany has taken sufficient precautions to ensure that the regulation would only have a limited impact on competition and trade within the EU, it said.
The funding is open to all companies active in the relevant economic sector and the recipients of the aid are selected in an open, transparent and non-discriminatory tendering process. In addition, the German authorities would ensure that the prices charged were comparable to the prices charged for similar existing infrastructure.
The Guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection and energy explain how the Commission will assess the compatibility of such aid, which is subject to notification, with the internal market. They have been in effect since January and are intended to create a flexible and appropriate framework for the member states to grant aid in a targeted and cost-efficient manner in line with the “Green Deal”.
The EU wants to become climate neutral by 2050. The European climate law, which came into force in July 2021 and sets a target of climate neutrality by 2050 and introduces an interim target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, forms the basis of the package presented by the Commission in July 2021 ” Fit for 55″. As part of this package, the Commission has presented amendments to the Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive with more ambitious binding annual targets to increase renewable energy production and reduce energy consumption in the EU.
Margrethe Vestager, EU Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, said: “This €1.8 billion scheme will allow Germany to expand the necessary fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. It will also boost the use of electromobility, help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the goals of the European Green Deal, while limiting excessive distortions of competition.” (aum/hrr)
