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Despite Europe dropping the ban on cars with internal combustion engines in 2035, it is still important to keep our eyes on Flanders' needed EV charging network mapped out thanks to the ERDF project.
However, this still leaves two important questions:
- Can the electricity network handle the coming growth of electric cars?
- How to make the operation of charging stations sufficiently profitable?
Will our electricity grid be able to handle the future?
A first challenge is the power grid. The load on the grid will increase significantly in the coming years due to electrification. Fluvius expects a sharp increase in grid load; the number of requests for heavy connections to the transmission grid actually quadrupled between 2020 and 2025.
As a result, today 16 of Flanders' 235 power zones (transformer stations) face grid congestion. Moreover, the overall electricity demand in Flanders is rising rapidly - according to forecasts up to 30% higher in the coming years.
System operators Fluvius and Elia are working on solutions and foresee accelerated investments to expand grid capacity. For example, Elia plans to invest about €2.6 billion in the Flemish high-voltage grid over the next five years. Below is the action plan that has been in place since March:
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Short-term solutions with the 'Fallback Flex' product.
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Flexible connection contracts to the distribution grid
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More capacity on the high-voltage grid
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Optimization of the operation of the distribution grid
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Additional investments to keep the grid on track
The Flemish government has set up an ad hoc working group with the grid operators, the regulator and the administration through which a new concept note has been developed with action points and proposals for additional measures
But it will also be up to the market of charging station producers to bring solutions to the market to charge smarter when there is an abundance of capacity. In doing so, we should also increasingly look at "buffers" to store our capacity. This way, the capacity needed during peak periods can be limited.
How can we make the operation of charging stations as profitable as possible?
A second challenge is the profitability of charging infrastructure. Today, an average fast charge point in Flanders generates about 13 MWh per year of consumption; for an ultra-rapid charge point, that's about 40 MWh. This level of usage is just about profitable - profit margins remain limited.
"10% of current charge points may never become profitable in the coming years"
As the market matures in the coming years, consumption per charge point can be expected to increase. Investment is therefore a matter of long-term vision: operators must be prepared to make initial investments with future growth in mind. Nevertheless, about 10% of current charge points may never become profitable in the coming years.
Therefore, it is important to remove as many barriers as possible for charging station operators to allow them to seek and find profitable business cases. Making more market data accessible is crucial here. In this area, Flanders is a pioneer.
For example, Fluvius launched a capacity guide at the time. This offered an initial screening opportunity to CPOs to already gain insight into the possibilities for a connection for each plot of land in Flanders. After all, in many other regions in Europe today, large preliminary screening costs still have to be paid for each case to be investigated.
The Flemish Government also takes many initiatives to inform cities and municipalities about the needs and opportunities within the municipality
And all available data in Flanders was also integrated by RetailSonar within smart predictive models, which revealed the current hotspots in Flanders. But of course, this is only a snapshot, which needs to be repeated regularly.
Check out the current hotspots for fast and ultra-fast charging here:
Co-funded by the European Union and Vlaio in the amount of 395k EUR
