The gas station operator Aral sees itself being slowed down in the expansion of fast charging stations. “In some cases, the local network operators cannot provide the performance that we need for our ultra-fast Charging stations require, not provide. We are experiencing this in every corner of the republic,” said Achim Bothe, CEO of Aral, to the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ). “The infrastructure often doesn’t yet provide what we need.”
With around 2,400 locations, Aral is the largest gas station chain in Germany. According to the Bochum company, there are currently around 2,300 charging points at around 300 Aral stations. The company aims to have 20,000 charging points by 2030.
Aral relies exclusively on so-called ultra-fast charging. “For this we need transformers and reliable access to the power grid. There are often problems here,” Bothe explained to WAZ. “When it comes to transformers, it often takes more than a year from the application to the building permit.”