Enabler for e-mobility: SMATRICS sees potential for petrol stations
With the amendment to the GEIG - new name: Act on the Development of a Charging and Conducting Infrastructure for Electromobility - EIG for short - German petrol station companies with at least 200 petrol stations are obliged to set up one fast charging point per petrol station from January 2028. SMATRICS sees this as a strong lever for e-mobility itself, as well as improved planning for companies and e-mobilists.
“We see the new Electric Mobility Infrastructure Act as an opportunity to boost the mobility transition and perhaps even solve the chicken-and-egg problem. After all, ramp-up and charging infrastructure must be able to grow in parallel,” says Hauke Hinrichs, CEO of SMATRICS. The German government's goal is to achieve net greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. To achieve this, 15 million electric cars are expected to be registered in Germany by 2030 - which currently corresponds to a tenfold increase.
With the amendment to the (G)EIG, petrol station companies in particular are being made responsible for driving forward the necessary expansion of the charging infrastructure: from the beginning of 2028 at the latest, companies with at least 200 petrol stations must install at least one public charging point with a capacity of 150 kilowatts or more at each petrol station.
Better planning strengthens electromobility as a whole
Changes to various targets in the recent past have led to uncertainty and slowed down the progress of the mobility transition. Even if the upcoming obligation is not always well received by all sides, it provides a clear perspective for e-mobility and greater predictability for e-mobility users. After all, charging at home or at work is not possible for everyone, especially in urban areas.
To close this gap, petrol stations are ideal as a familiar contact point in combination with ultra-fast charging points, says Hinrichs: “Many petrol station companies have been expanding their services for years and upgrading their locations with e-charging infrastructure. SMATRICS has always provided support with planning and implementation and knows all the necessary requirements and challenges.”
With solutions from SMATRICS, all services from consulting to installation and ongoing technical operation as well as different payment methods can be covered in partnership. Long-standing customers include the Orlen petrol station chain in Austria, and this year SMATRICS also began supporting Deutsche Tamoil GmbH as a white-label 360° full-service provider in setting up fast-charging infrastructure at its HEM petrol stations.
In order to set up the 8,000 new fast-charging points calculated by the German government by 2028, the expansion turbo must be switched on now.
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