Bureaucracy slows down development of charging infrastructure in Germany

Building up a nationwide charging infrastructure in Germany is an important prerequisite to further establish electromobility. But even six months after the start of the “on-site charging infrastructure” offensive, which the federal government provided with €300 million in funding, significantly fewer fast charging points were put into operation than originally expected. The main reason is too much bureaucracy.

"As far as we know, not a single charging point has emerged from the 'On-site charging infrastructure' funding program since April of this year. To date, only a single-digit percentage of funding has even been approved. Far too long processing and too extensive approval procedures slow down the development of the charging infrastructure considerably," said Joachim Damasky, Managing Director at German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).

The VDA welcomes the diverse funding programs of the current legislature that support the development of charging infrastructure in the various areas of application. Joachim Damasky further explains, "Many funding programs for the different applications are set up in an appropriate way. But the current offensive could have made a much more extensive contribution to setting up a charging infrastructure. There is a lack of operationalization and the visibility of the measures for consumers. It’s unacceptable that bureaucracy slows down transformation."

The offensive for the "on-site charging infrastructure" aims to promote publicly accessible on-site charging options and is also intended to offer a charging solution to people who cannot charge at home or at their employers. The funding program needs a faster and more efficient approval process as quickly as possible in order to resolve the application backlog. The transformation to climate-neutral mobility cannot be achieved without a reliable nationwide public charging infrastructure. Funding applications could have been submitted since April 12th and still can be until the end of the year. The subsidy can amount to up to 80% of the investment costs.