Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have approved new regulations that will boost the number of publicly accessible electric vehicle (EV) recharging and hydrogen refueling stations across European Union countries.

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ZWICKAU, GERMANY - MAY 24: A worker demonstrates the charging process of Volkswagen's second generation ID.3 electric car on May 24, 2023 in Zwickau, Germany. The redesigned ID.3 is nearly identical to its predecessor on the outside, but features improved comfort and software on the inside. Volkswagen has set a goal of 80 percent of its cars sold in Europe being all-electric by 2030.

EU New Regulations for Improved EV Charging Experience

The European Parliament approved a series of regulations aimed at enhancing the overall EV charging experience. According to Electrek, this includes rules that primarily focus on facilitating seamless payments, increasing charging speed, and ensuring greater availability of charging stations. 

As part of its "Fit for 55" package, the European Parliament aimed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 55% by 2030. Through these set of rules, it will improve the EV charging experience for Europeans and possibly for the rest of the world.

The regulations will end consumer concerns about the difficulty of recharging or refueling a vehicle by making a minimum of recharging and refueling infrastructure available across the EU.

Based on the agreement reached by the MEPs, electric cars should be able to charge every 60 kilometers along Europe's main routes (TEN-T) by 2026 with at least 400 kW output. The network's power output is set to increase to 600 kW by 2028, H2 reported.

Buses and trucks must have a charging station every 120 kilometers. Depending on the road, these stations should be installed on half of the main EU roads by 2028, with a 1,400 kW to 2,800 kW power output.

By 2031, member states should make sure that hydrogen filling stations are installed at least every 200 kilometers along the main routes. "TEN-T core network" is Europe's main arterial road network, similar to the interstate highway system of the United States.

Also Read: Europe Aims to Soon Deploy EV Charging Stations Every 37 Miles

EU's Goals

Europe has set a target to establish a comprehensive public charging station database by 2027. This database will provide essential information such as availability, waiting times, and pricing for various stations, irrespective of the charging network they belong to. 

In addition to the charging station requirements, the new regulations enforce simpler charger payments. Currently, certain networks require subscriptions or the downloading of specific apps. 

However, under the new rules posted in European Parliament's announcement, customers must be able to make payments using cards or contactless devices, and charging prices must be clearly displayed to the customers.

UK's EV Charging Restrictions

In the United Kingdom, the government also proposed rules focusing on charging experiences within the island nation. The main highlight of these rules is the mandate for 99% charging station reliability in the UK. 

Besides the reliability mandates, the rules would also adopt payment and database requirements similar to the EU rules. The proposed regulations will also mandate per-kWh pricing, contactless payments, price displays, and real-time data on the availability of charging points. 

However, these rules only apply to fast chargers of 8 kW or higher, as slower public AC chargers will be exempted. Once these UK rules have been officially adopted, they will reportedly take a year to go into force.

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