EU passes new electric vehicle charging regulation

The EU has passed a new law that will require fast charging points for electric vehicles (EVs) every 37 miles on motorways, and a new regulation about hydrogen refuelling has been included, too.

Countries in the EU will have until the end of 2025 to adhere to the new regulation, which seeks to improve infrastructure supporting electric vehicles, which as we know are (currently) range-limited.

Obviously, the idea of the new law is to promote the use of electric vehicles by trying to remove - or at least reduce - the effect of the biggest anxiety of electric bikes and cars, that being range.

The World Economic Forum reports that it will require fast charging stations to be present every 60km (37 miles) on motorways that are a part of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T). To adhere to the ‘fast charging’ part of the law, the stations must have a total output of 600kW and have at least one charger with a 150kW output.

The new law also represents a part of the EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ initiative, which aims to cut carbon emissions in the Union by 55 per cent by 2030. With transport reportedly accounting for 25 per cent of emissions in the EU, it makes sense that it should be targeted for reductions.

In addition to the regulations around charging stations, the EU will also be looking to increase the number of hydrogen refuelling stations by 2030, by which time it will be aiming for one hydrogen station every 200km (124 miles), which will be of encouragement to brands like Kawasaki, which has been open about its own hydrogen plans.