Some three million public charging points will be needed for 44 million electric vehicles in 2030 if the EU is to become climate neutral by 2050, new research by research group Transport & Environment (T&E) shows. This would mean providing 15 times the current 185,000 public chargers available in the EU – which are enough for the current electric fleet but not to keep pace with the growing market beyond 2020.

To finance the necessary chargers, the analysis estimates Europe needs €20bn over the next 11 years, or €1.8bn a year on average, in private and targeted public investment. This is just 3 per cent of the EU’s annual spend on road infrastructure today.

Lucien Mathieu, emobility analyst of Transport & Environment, said: “The Green Deal for transport can only happen with zero-emission infrastructure. The shift to EVs will create a multi-billion euro market opportunity for European industry in the grid works, and manufacturing, installation and maintenance of public charging. The EU must do everything it can to fight the climate emergency while supporting jobs in Europe.”

The upcoming revision of the EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive is the critical moment for the European Commission to help drivers charge smoothly across the bloc and help businesses ride the electrification wave, T&E said.

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