Germany’s electric vehicle
charging network is to get a boost after the country’s Ministry of Transport
and Digital Infrastructure announced additional funding of €300 million to
accelerate the roll-out of its nationwide fast charging network.
Federal Minister
Andreas Scheuer said the investment would fund charging points at hotels,
restaurants and other public locations.
“We are supporting
a solution for all those people who cannot charge either at home or at their
employer,” he said.
The money, which
will cover up to 80 per cent of the costs of installation, is aimed at small
and medium-sized companies in particular who can apply from 12 April until the
end of the year. The infrastructure must be installed by the end of 2022.
The government has
already invested €400 million on installing charging points in private homes and at offices
and is promising €350 million for commercial fleet charging this summer.
Johannes Pallasch, head
of the national control centre for charging infrastructure, said, “The rapid increase
in the number of registrations for e-vehicles makes the accelerated
installation of charging stations urgently necessary, because we want customers
to be able to charge easily everywhere.”