British oil company BP continues to set ambitious targets for its network of ultra-fast charging stations. By 2030, it wants to roll out 20 000 High Power Charging (HPC) points for cars and a network of low-carbon mobility hubs for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. It will do this with Germany’s largest service station network, Aral, which has been part of BP since 2002.
Aral currently operates 1 700 HPCs for EVS and PHEVs in Germany. By the end of the year, that should be increased to 3 000. By 2025, the Aral Pulse network should have 5 000 charging points of at least 150 kW to reach 20 000 by 2030. If you can charge your car at 300 kW, you will be ready in 15 minutes.
Extensive network but not big enough
Other major providers of fast chargers in Germany include E.ON drive, EWE GO, Westenergie Metering, Volkswagen’s Elli, and ENBW, which stands for Energie Baden-Württemberg, the top player with 4 700 chargers. The latter wants 30 000 fast charging points by 2030, 10 000 more than BP/Aral.
Germany currently has around 85 000 charging points, including 14 000 fast chargers. That number puts the country ahead of France, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands in Europe. Yet that is not enough to meet current needs.
Despite advancements, Germany struggles with charging point distribution per EV. Its charging infrastructure is one of the least expansive, with an average of 26 EVs per public charging point, double the EU average and below the desired benchmark.
At the end of 2022, Germany’s national car fleet counted more than one million EVs. The German government aims to have 1 million public charging points available by 2030.
Part of €10 billion BP investment plan
As part of its ‘And, not or!’ strategy, BP plans to invest up to 10 billion euros in Germany by 2030.
Besides further rapid expansion of its ultra-fast electric vehicle charging infrastructure, plans include additional hydrogen production and transport development, offshore wind projects, investment in biofuel production, and more sustainable aviation fuel.
BP plans to “transition to net zero” by gradually reducing oil and gas production and investing more in low-carbon and renewable energy sources. Yet the British oil company is getting a lot of criticism for greenwashing, as it is making record profits by investing in fossil fuels.
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