Why am I writing this? 

The internet is full of articles about electromobility. the most innovative equipment for e-mobility. I had the possibility to observe the trends in this field, as well as the innovations and the implementation challenges of these, all around the world. One of the aspects that created massive problems in the European countries were the fast chargers, misunderstood by the public, implemented incorrectly by service providers and by the authorities. Fast charging is one of the most important innovations that make electric cars more competitive, however, installed without a smart strategy, they can do more harm than good (urban planning for electromobility is still in the pioneering phase). Next, I will show why, using the experiences I had with different energy regulators, manufacturers, engineers and top scientists in this field. 

For the last four years in the Department of Transport Technologies of Intertek Germany, I had to deal with

The momentum of electromobility

According to statista, the number of electric vehicles registered in EU-27 were close to 1,325,000 units in 2020, up from 550,000 units in 2019 (an increase of 10.5% in just one year). Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, there was a significant increase in 2021 too (cca. 18%). Around 560,300 electric vehicles were sold throughout Europe in the second quarter of 2022. All this increase is sustained by the EU legislation dedicated to improve (standardize) and increase the number of charging stations available in public parking lots of each member state. This is the EU's response to the ‘chicken-and-egg’ problem (e.g., AFID Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure).

And now, the problems behind this shining rise 

There are several major perspectives on electromobility around me. Somehow, I could classify them into three groups: 1. the superficial perspective (when personal opinions are very subjective and lack of depth, e.g., being against electric vehicles for strange reasons) 2. the limited perspective (e.g., electric cars are worse polluters then conventional cars and all those anti EV caricatures showing an EV charging using electricity from a polluting conventional thermal power plant) and 3. the objective perspective (which involves detailed knowledge and experience). The last perspective is more common among those who own an electric vehicle or those who work in the field of electromobility (they know exactly the existing problems and also have proposed ways to improve them). 

The general public wants more faster and powerful EV chargers, if possible, now and everywhere! Watching or reading news, 

it is impossible not to come across reports in which the big hoteliers, real estate developers, architects, tourism service providers, local administrators and so on, declare proudly the inauguration of fast and ultra fast chargers in their parking lots. However, cars parked in these parking lots need to charge quickly? Do those who park in these public places stay only for a few minutes? Or do they stay overnight at the hotel, spend quality time at a restaurant, go swimming, skiing, seeing theater, etc.? Well, if yes, it means that a slow charging station is more appropriate in some places. Slow chargers can do the same job as fast charging stations in some cases, but way more efficiently, and the difference for the electricity networks and the service providers / energy regulators is just huge. Actually, using the right chargers on the right places (planning of EV chargers towards a smart charging network) is the main factor of sustainability. 

What do energy regulators say? 

I observed that almost all energy regulators with which I had contact (e.g., Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE, Hungarian Energy and Utilities Regulatory Authority MEKH, Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority ANRE, Energiavirasto – the Finnish Energy Authority (EV) and many others, including from Latin America) have mentioned the same problems regarding fast EV chargers (11 kW or more). Meeting the public expectations (more faster and powerful EV chargers everywhere / ‘the big attitude’ ) could simply make an entire power grid to collapse in a few years, as electricity networks could not adapt to the huge demand and pressure as fast as e-mobility develops). And it is not just the public having the ‘the big attitude’, but also the lead manufacturers like Ionity, GoFast, Tesla etc. they are all fueling the public's (great) expectations and encourage fast charging (even out of context, as long as it is profitable).

Smaller countries, like Switzerland, Austria, Czechia, Hungary (where average km/day is below 100 km, with short travel distances and an average parking time above 20 hours/day) would need to limit the installation of fast EV chargers on some public spaces. Countries with a developing electricity network would need also to pay a greater attention on how they manage the situation and avoid a further crisis. This just shows how important is for the power connection of charging stations to always consider the average time an EV will stay on a specific parking place (and this involves planning considering statistics and human behavior, urban planning must adapt to the electromobility requirements before it will be overwhelmed by the demands of the fast growing electromobility). 

It is clear that some parking places have no need for fast EV chargers, but more of the slower ones. For example, AC 11/22 kW charging stations in the parking lots of workplaces, entertainment, sports and leisure buildings are not recommended, as in these cases an EV's battery can be fully charged in less then 2 hours, while the average parking time in these places is above that time (4-6 hours). In the parking lots of hotels, more 3.7 kW chargers are much more efficient than a few 11/22 kW chargers, because of the context, it is also a lot better for the electricity grid and providers. It is always frustrating to wait for a fast charger occupied for hours by a car. Considering more the potential of slow charging of EVs in destinations which anyway require a longer stay is a key for a well-organized and sustainable electricity network.

On the other hand, fast charging remains very important along major traffic routes, highways and express roads.

Conclusions

The problems signaled by many electricity regulators and electricity providers must be considered only at the beginning of what the rising of electromobility will cause in the following years (more for unprepared national grids). One of the concerns is the collective attitude of car drivers, which still involves thinking in the old fashion of using conventional cars, people having the desire to charge their electric cars as fast as refueling a conventional car. It is harder to plan a trip with an electric car, and even more to consider in advance the destination parking time and choosing the right type of chargers, or to slightly adapt ones schedule around the charging times. 

One thing is certain, people are not ready to take any step back in terms of their comfort. Bprobably the most rigid aspect of this subject).

ut even so, the true potential of electromobility lies in a superior management of the entire infrastructure / network, and for this, urban planners, local administrators, service providers and all those factors which can make a difference, should think more sensibly about the fast developing electromobility, at least until the collective attitude of car drivers will adapt (