POWER ON: EXPANDING THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE DRIVES ELECTROMOBILITY

Munich/Pforzheim, January 17, 2019 – The most recent study conducted by Aurora Energy Research predicts that by 2040, up to 29 million electric cars will be driving on German roads. To ensure that electric vehicles can be charged anywhere, an intelligent charging infrastructure supported by a combination of private households and publicly accessible charging stations based on renewable energy is needed. Visitors of Power2Drive Europe will gain exclusive insights into how these and other challenges for a successful transportation transition can be met. The exhibition will take place as a part of The smarter E Europe – the innovation hub for empowering new energy solutions. Over 200 suppliers of charging infrastructure and electric vehicles, and 50,000 visitors are expected from May 15–17, 2019 at Messe München.

About two years ago, the German government decided to launch an incentive program for e-mobility. Since the beginning of 2017, the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure’s charging infrastructure program been contributing to investments in the development of a nationwide, publicly accessible charging infrastructure. The program intends to help establish a comprehensive and needs-based charging network with at least 15,000 new charging stations by 2020. To this end, the German government has set aside 300 million euros for the period from 2017 to 2020.

The initiative has been well received by private investors and municipalities alike: The first two calls for applications attracted over 3,000 submissions, with 15,803 charging points being granted funding, 2,330 of which will be high-speed charging stations. This will more than double the number of existing charging stations. The third call for funding followed in November of 2018. The German government has earmarked around 70 million euros for this appeal alone, which will finance the construction of up to 13,000 charging points.

Cities around the globe are getting charged up
Companies, too, have recognized the need to expand the charging infrastructure in order to promote e-mobility in Germany and worldwide. EVBox, a Dutch clean technology company, is a case in point. Their range of charging solutions can help expand the charging infrastructure. “Charging infrastructure expansion is in our blood: Within the past few years, we have already installed more than 60,000 charging points in over 45 countries. 23 percent of CO2 emissions are produced by traffic. This is why we believe in introducing positive changes to the transportation sector. A more widespread deployment of electric vehicles would drastically reduce emissions,” says Job Karstens, PR and Event Manager at EVBox. “So cities should invest in their charging infrastructure. For example, Amsterdam and Rotterdam – cities we equip with charging stations – have an international reputation as being forerunners in e-mobility.”

But German cities are also getting charged up. “There is a lot of dynamism in the market for charging infrastructure. Take Hanover, for example. As the concession-holder for the charging infrastructure network in Hanover, we will construct 480 charging points by the end of 2020,” says Dr. Susanna Zapreva, CEO of enercity AG. “We have set the goal of providing our customers with one of the densest charging networks in Germany operated solely with green power. And the charging infrastructure is only one part of our e-mobility initiative. We’re fully on track to break down many e-mobility barriers.” The most recent German city to follow suit has been Cologne by presenting the city council a resolution proposal for the site concept “charging infrastructure on public roads in the city of Cologne” in 2019.

Business models with positive rates of return
From operating fleets of electric vehicles to charging at work to equipping public parking lots, gas stations and highway rest stops with electric charging options, expanding the commercial and industrial charging infrastructure offers a foundation for many appealing business models. According to the most recent analysis by Aurora Energy Research, positive rates of return are possible in any of these areas – as long as users pay for the power used and operators reach a margin of five to eleven euro cents per kilowatt hour (depending on the approach).

By 2040, the power demand generated by electric vehicles in the commercial and industrial sectors could reach between 13 and 17 terawatt hours per year in Germany alone, representing approximately 3 percent of the country’s current power consumption. Two to four million charging stations will be needed to meet this demand, requiring an investment of up to eight billion euros.

“E-Mobility has achieved considerable market potential. More and more companies, customers and employees already have electric cars and want to be able to charge them in different places. Most of our customers have moved beyond just investing in charging infrastructure and are now looking into intelligent charging and energy management,” says Marcus Fendt, Managing Director of The Mobility House. “How can we operate as many charging points as possible without the need for grid expansion or higher annual service charges? How should charging work at times when the price of electricity is low and the photovoltaic infeed high? That’s where our customers need more information and where investments are required.”

Power2Drive Europe 2019: the interface between transportation and energy
Power2Drive Europe provides the interface between the electrification of transportation and a future-oriented, environmentally friendly, carbon-neutral energy supply by providing a platform for the topic of charging infrastructure at both the exhibition and the conference. Visitors will have the opportunity to find out everything worth knowing about charging solutions and technologies for electric vehicles on all three days of the exhibition. The Power2Drive Europe Conference will also feature discussions from experts, associations and research institutes on business models and the industry’s market potential.

Image Source: © EVBox

Power2Drive Europe and the parallel events will take place from May 15–17, 2019 at Messe München as part of The smarter E Europe – the innovation hub for empowering new energy solutions.

Further information on Power2Drive Europe 2019 can be found at www.PowerToDrive.de.

Power2Drive Europe
Power2Drive Europe is the international exhibition for charging infrastructure and electric mobility. It reflects the opportunities and necessity of the energy transition in the transportation sector. The focus is on infrastructure solutions and technologies for clean mobility as well as on traction batteries for electric vehicles.

Power2Drive Europe offers manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and start-ups in this growing industry a professional platform to present new developments and business models.

In 2019, Power2Drive Europe will be held in parallel to ees Europe, the continent’s largest exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems, which is taking place for the sixth time. The exhibition’s focus on stationary energy storage solutions and technologies offers the perfect complement to the topics covered at Power2Drive Europe. Intersolar Europe, the world’s leading exhibition for the solar industry and its partners, and EM-Power, the exhibition for the intelligent use of energy in industry and buildings, will also take place at the same time. All four exhibitions are being held at the innovation hub for empowering new energy solutions: The smarter E Europe.

For more information on Power2Drive Europe, please visit: www.PowerToDrive.de

Organizers: Power2Drive Europe is organized by Solar Promotion GmbH, Pforzheim and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM).