‘Investment in charging infrastructure must pay off’

For people to choose electric cars, charging facilities are required. What is the current situation like in Sweden?

– Sweden needs to rapidly increase the number of charging stations. We currently have one of the highest percentages of chargeable vehicles in new car sales in the EU. We used to be in a good position regarding the number of charging points, but now with interest in electric cars quickly growing, charging point expansion cannot keep up. Unfortunately, some government agencies go no further than recommending the minimum number of charging points for buildings with garages underneath, as set by the EU. We believe instead that we need to ready ourselves for rapid electrification and look at the national situation.

What is slowing down the expansion of charging infrastructure?

– One problem is the business model for charging point operators; just selling electricity to electric vehicles is seldom enough to pay for an investment. We need to overhaul the payment systems, which is touched upon in the new EU proposal for a directive on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure: free e-roaming between systems, transparent pricing and information about charging points. The other is the critical issue of power availability in places with a lot of electric cars. This is not done in the blink of an eye; instead, it requires investment. If we are unable to provide the means of delivering more power in built-up areas, electrification will stall.

What do policies need to do to accelerate the trend?

– The right market conditions, created by long-term rules and smart business models, are needed so that investment in charging infrastructure will pay off. The most important thing is forming a consensus based on an EU standard for payment systems and e-roaming solutions. Thanks to the EU directive on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, we are well on the way to achieving this. We also need to overhaul the handling of permits for various alternative fuels. Besides electric charging, there is hydrogen, biogas and pure biofuels. They are a prerequisite for the transition of the transport sector.

Jakob Lagercrantz was interviewed by Malin Sahlén, Senior Associate Partner at New Republic. ‘Three Quick Questions…’ is a series of interviews conducted by New Republic.