In Flanders, anyone who has an electric car but no place to charge it (at home or nearby), can request a public charging station at a maximum of 250 meters from their home. Since September 1st, when the Flemish government introduced the proposal, almost a thousand applications have already been received to install a public charging station.

In addition to requests from citizens, extra charging points will be installed automatically when the existing charging infrastructure is used intensively, on strategic spots, for instance, such as the parking facilities at large apartment buildings.

Engie and TotalEnergies

“At the beginning of 2021, we had about 4 000 locations with charging infrastructure, but those were not always the most suitable or best locations,” Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) explains. “Meanwhile, things were mapped out, and the most strategic places were located. This way, we can install targeted infrastructure.”

Energy providers Engie and TotalEnergies are responsible for the rollout in Flanders. TotalEnergies will provide the infrastructure for West Flanders and Flemish Brabant; the other provinces will be serviced by Engie. And the cities of Antwerp, Ghent, and Genk will take care of the public charging infrastructure on their territory.

Wemmel

In the meantime, TotalEnergies has installed the first public charging stations of the new concession in Wemmel (Brussels), Haacht, Ieper, and Oostkamp. The Flemish government aims at having 35 000 charging equivalents by 2025. Today, there are about 18 000. Every 25 kilometers, fast or ultra-fast charging infrastructure should be available along highways and major traffic axes.