The electric mobility market is growing strongly. There are more and more drivers in the eco-system and it has an ever greater economic impact. This requires professionalization of the many players in the e-mobility value chain. What measures are necessary to make the breakthrough of electric mobility completely mainstream?
In its leading role, Stroohm has drawn up various recommendations for policymakers at federal and regional level:
- Transparent costs of charging cards
Unfortunately, there are still too many providers of charging cards that do not publish their rates (usage costs of the charging card on top of the electricity cost of the charging station) transparently on their website or send them along when sending the charging card. Stroohm is requesting that the rates be made exhaustively mandatory via the provider’s website.
- Uniform fire safety rules
Local fire zones should have a clear and binding framework under which charging infrastructure can be placed. Today, there are the “Rules of good workmanship” which can be used as a binding standard by the regions if no Royal Decree follows. This would create a stable legal framework and put an end to the arbitrariness of Kafkaesque advice.
- Tax advantage for commercial vehicles
Light trucks and trucks do not have sufficient fiscal differentiation compared to alternatives with combustion engines. We advocate limiting the tax deduction for newly registered (light) trucks with combustion engines to a maximum of 50% from 2025.
- Restrictions on driving licence B for electric LCVs
The maximum permissible mass (MTM) with a driving licence B for vehicles in category N1 is 3500 kg. Given the extra weight of the batteries and the preservation of the useful load capacity, it is recommended to increase the driving licence B specifically for electric light goods vehicles to 4500 kg.
- Fast chargers notification signs on motorways
Clear indication along the motorways about the number of fast chargers, maximum charging speed, price and availability of the fast chargers would increase visibility and service to drivers. Public opinion would also be positively influenced about the actual number of fast chargers that are available. The first signs are being placed today, but still with limited information.
- ETS system for fossil fuels
Fossil fuels have a much greater CO2 impact due to their extraction, transport and processing into fuel. Just like in the electricity market, the impact of this is included via the ETS mechanism. The mobility sector should also introduce this mechanism.
- Gross and useful net capacity of batteries
Currently, the battery capacity is indicated on the certificate of conformity (CoC), but it is not sufficiently specified whether the gross or useful net capacity of the battery should be displayed. For the consumer it is important to be able to compare apples with apples. Both data are desired, but only the useful net capacity may be communicated to the consumer.
- Capacity tariff with “time of use” variation
Currently, peak consumption in the home, including electric cars, is settled on the size of the peak. This is regardless of the time at which the electric cars have charged. Since electricity consumption drops by 3,000 MW at night, the grid should be encouraged to charge during off-peak hours when the electricity grid is unloaded. This financial incentive is lacking today
- Electricity bill should not be a tax bill
The current electricity bill is a hodgepodge of various costs that do not actually belong on our bill. The Public Service Obligations have settled costs for street lighting, tenders for public charging stations, subsidies for insulation, etc. These costs should be eliminated and fossil fuels should bear a larger share of the costs in order to accelerate the transition.
- Prohibit “vendor lock in”
Some charging station providers let data flow exclusively over their platform. Only in a second step do they pass data on to other universal platforms. With the bankruptcy of Powerdale we saw what an enormous impact this can have. All hardware can suddenly become unusable if the software platform stops working. That is why there should be an obligation for direct data connection with CPO platforms and a ban on exclusive own platforms. This is by definition a vendor lock-in that should be prohibited.