EU wants to mandate charging stations every 60 kilometers

Electromobility is a wonderful thing, as anyone who drives or has driven an electric car will surely be able to confirm. But that doesn’t mean that this class is problem-free. Above all, the lack of charging stations causes headaches. That should change. The European Union, which is intensively driving the switch to electromobility and wants to ban the sale of new combustion engines from 2035, knows this and wants to improve it accordingly.

Because the transport committee of the EU Parliament in Strasbourg has now launched a proposal for a regulation that provides for an intensive expansion of charging stations. Specifically, the European Parliament writes in a Message that main traffic routes should have a charging station at least every 60 kilometers. It should be possible to fill with hydrogen at least every 100 kilometers, and this requirement should be implemented by 2026.

Buses and trucks should also benefit from this, and at the same time – but only along the routes of the TEN-T network. The EU Parliament wants to launch a more ambitious schedule than the EU Commission because charging stations for trucks and secure parking spaces are to be set up more quickly: two charging stations from 2028 instead of one from 2031, as proposed by the Commission. But there should be exceptions, as the Transport Committee writes: “In all cases, some exceptions would apply to regions in the outermost regions, islands, and roads with very little traffic.”

Not only more, but also simpler and more transparent

In addition, Parliament wants to simplify the handling of alternative fuels and powertrains: “Users of alternative fuel vehicles should be able to pay easily, the price should be displayed per kWh or per kilogram, it should be affordable, comparable and accessible for all vehicle brands.

MEPs also want an EU-wide access point for alternative fuels data to be in place by 2027, providing information on availability, waiting times, and prices at different fuel stations.”