A techno-economic analysis of fast charging needs in Germany for different ranges of battery electric vehicles

Political action supports the built-up of public charging infrastructure to increase market shares of battery electric vehicles (BEV). For a cost-effective deployment of public charging infrastructure, a detailed knowledge of charging infrastructure needs is necessary. However, the effect of increased vehicle ranges on charging infrastructure needs is not yet sufficiently understood. The aim of the present paper is to determine the number of fast charging points needed in Germany for different ranges of BEV. We use information on daily driving distances of real-world driving data from 6,339 German conventional passenger cars to deduce yearly charging demands for different ranges of BEV. Finally, we determine fast charging infrastructure needs in Germany by combining a coverage-oriented with a demand oriented approach and take differences in local charging demands into account. For Germany, we find that 500 fast charging points could meet charging demands of up to 500,000 BEV. In addition, we see charging demands decreasing with higher vehicle ranges as the resulting effect of a lower number of charging events on charging infrastructure needs outweighs the effect of increased charging times per charging event.