EAFO: Germany leads the way in truck charging stations

The European Alternative Fuels Observatory (EAFO) has published data on charging infrastructure for heavy-duty vehicles in the EU for the first time. According to the data, there are a total of 1,512 public charging stations for heavy-duty vehicles in the EU.

Of these, 1,369 are mixed use for both heavy and light commercial vehicles, while 143 are exclusively for heavy commercial vehicles. The EAFO consistently refers to charging stations in its data on commercial vehicles, whereas other publications clearly refer to recharging points when discussing charging infrastructure. However, charging stations could also refer to charging columns (with multiple charging points).

The EU member states with the most public charging stations for heavy commercial vehicles (including mixed use) are Germany (479), Sweden (278), the Netherlands (246), Denmark (158), and France (101). Mixed use is determined at the location level – “if a location has charging devices for both heavy-duty vehicles and light commercial vehicles, the entire location is classified as mixed use,” explains the EAFO.

When it comes to infrastructure exclusively available for heavy commercial vehicles, Sweden leads the way with 42 stations, ahead of France (37), Germany (21), the Netherlands (19), and Belgium (15). The numbers here are still so low that the rollout plans of individual operators can have a massive impact on the country statistics – for example, the Milence joint venture is very active in all of the top five countries.

The EAFO obtains its data from its technical partner Eco-Movement. Eco-Movement, in turn, obtains the data directly from the charging point operators, compiles it, compares it, and checks it for conformity. According to the AFIR, only publicly accessible charging stations are included. “Private depots or locations reserved exclusively for vehicle fleets are excluded,” according to the EAFO.

The data, which is now being published for the first time, will be updated monthly from now on – in the middle of each month. On November 15, the data for October will be published, then in mid-December for November, and so on. The data now published will remain the basis for further reports; there are no plans to include historical data.

alternative-fuels-observatory.ec.europa

This article was originally published by Sebastian Schaal for electrive’s German edition