Charging ahead: accelerating the roll-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure

Charging ahead: accelerating the roll-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure

Public charging points: a long way to go

     At the end of 2023, there were 632,423 public charging points across Europe. This falls far short of the number needed. The European Commission is calling for 3.5 million charging points by 2030 to support the level of vehicle electrification necessary to reach the proposed 55% CO2 reduction for passenger cars. ACEA’s estimates indicate a much higher demand: 8.8 million charging points will be needed by 2030, increasing to 18.8 million by 2035. There is a significant difference between the Commission and ACEA estimations of the number of charging points needed by 2030 due to several factors: the Commission underestimates the number of vehicles on EU roads that will need a charger by 2030: their estimate is 30 million, versus 65 million as estimated by Strategy& and Fraunhofer ISI and used in ACEA calculations.6 ACEA figures include battery-electric vans, which are primarily charged using the same infrastructure as cars, as well as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, whereas the Commission only counts battery-electric cars.

   To reach 3.5 million by 2030, nearly 2.9 million public charging points will need to be installed in the next seven years, equivalent to almost 410,000 per year, or 7,900 per week. For context, just 153,027 new public EV charging points were installed in 2023. This should increase to 1.2 million per year, or 22,438 per week, if we consider ACEA’s 2030 target of 8.8 million charging points. Based on the number of installations in 2023, the public charging network will stand at just 1.6 million units by 2030.

Get connected: Type 2 and CCS connectors dominate in Europe

 Public charging points in Europe are typically equipped with one of two charging connector types: Type 2 is the predominant connector, with the Combined Charging System (CCS) occupying most of the remaining market share. The Type 2 connector has a universal socket capable of delivering up to 22 kW for slow and fast charging. CCS connectors have a combined AC and DC port used for fast or ultra-fast charging, with a maximum power output of up to 350 kW and the capability to fully charge a BEV in 15 minutes.

Total number of publicly accessible AC and DC recharging points across the EU, according to the AFIR classification at end-2023

Fast or slow? It’s a two-speed race

Typically, AC chargers are used for slow charging and are best suited to home and workplace charging, as well as public spaces such as supermarkets and leisure facilities. DC chargers are most commonly used for fast charging, usually on motorways and main highways, allowing drivers on long journeys to charge quickly en route rather than overnight.

Both AC and DC chargers are suitable for public charging. AC chargers dominate, but of the 632,423 charging points available across the EU at the end of 2023, only around one in seven (13.5%) is capable of fast charging (with a capacity of more than 22kW). The majority are ‘normal’ chargers with a capacity of 22kW or less.

Out of sync: Charging point deployment and BEV uptake

The rate of installation of charging points is clearly slower than the sales of battery electric cars. In 2023, BEVs represented 14.6% of EU new car sales, with plug-in hybrids accounting for 7.7%, according to ACEA data. The share of battery electric cars is expected to reach almost 30% of the European market by 2025 and to exceed 70% by 2030.8 Over the past seven years, sales of BEVs have outpaced the growth of the charging point network by more than threefold. Between 2017 and 2023, electric car sales increased over 18 times, while the number of public chargers in the EU grew merely sixfold during the same period.

Charge point operators (CPOs)

Public charging points are managed and maintained by charge point operators (CPOs). The EV charging industry has yet to mature, with the number of CPOs still growing and evolving. The charging market remains fragmented, with a high number of small national players, many of them start-ups. Margins are low, and the return on investment is even lower. The next few years are likely to see considerable growth in charging points and considerable consolidation in CPOs, with charging eventually becoming a commodity.