EU passes law requiring EV fast chargers along all main transport corridors by 2025
The Council of the European Union (EU) has adopted a new law surrounding EV charging infrastructure it’s calling a “milestone” in reducing carbon emissions throughout the European transport sector. Beginning in 2025, fast charging stations will need to be present every 60 km along the “trans-European transport (TEN-T) network.”
Today’s news is the latest chapter in the EU Council’s “Fit for 55” package agreed upon in June 2022, before EU Parliament and its Council reached a provision deal on the proposal this past March.
The goal of the package is to significantly reduce the carbon footprint in the transport sector, consisting of passenger cars, vans, and heavy-duty vehicles currently plagued by fossil fuel emissions.
The extensive package calls upon the EU to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and achieve climate neutrality in 2050. The package currently includes regulations to promote electrification in cars and alternative fuels in aviation and maritime segments, all while bolstering any and all infrastructure to alleviate range anxiety for those citizens it urges to go electric.
Today, the EU Council announced a new law has been adopted that should significantly increase the number of public EV fast chargers along all major corridors.
EU’s new charger law is ambitious but admirable
The EU Council shared regulatory terms of its latest EV charger law, which calls for hardened infrastructure across all transport segments on the continent. The official passage comes weeks after we first covered some terms of the proposed law, which have changed slightly over the past few weeks. EU Council member and Spanish minister of transport, mobility and urban agenda, Raquel Sánchez Jiménez spoke to the new EV charger law:
The new law is a milestone of our ‘Fit for 55’ policy providing for more public recharging capacity on the streets in cities and along the motorways across Europe. We are optimistic that in the near future, citizens will be able to charge their electric cars as easily as they do today in traditional petrol stations.
Here’s how the infrastructural deployment targets are laid out according to the regulation announced today:
- From 2025 onward, EV fast charging stations of at least 150kW for cars and vans must be installed every 60 km (37 miles) along the EU’s main transport corridors “(TEN-T) network.”
- Charging stations for heavy-duty EVs with a minimum output of 350kW must be deployed every 60 km along the TEN-T core network, and every 100 km (62 miles) on the larger TEN-T network from 2025 onward.
- This must be followed by complete network coverage by 2030.
- Hydrogen refueling stations serving cars and trucks must be deployed in all urban areas and every 200 km along the TEN-T core network from 2030 onward.
- Maritime ports welcoming a minimum number of large passenger vessels, or container vessels, must provide them with shore-side electricity by 2030.
- Airports must provide electricity to stationary aircraft at all gates by 2025, and at all remote stands by 2030.
- Drivers of electric or hydrogen-fueled vehicles must be able to pay easily at recharging or refueling points with payment cards or contactless devices and without a need for a subscription.
- Charging transactions must include full price transparency.
- Recharging or refueling station operators must provide consumers full information through electronic means on the availability, waiting time, or price at different stations.
The EU Council shared that now its latest law has been adopted, the EV charger regulations will be published in the EU’s next official journal after summer and enter into force 20 days after publication. Six months after that, the new rules will apply in the EU.
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JackRabbit, the maker of pint-sized electric microbikes, is back with a new product designed to quickly recharge their batteries from pure, uncut photons mainlined into an e-bike directly from the sun. In true independent charging form, the Solar Charging Kit from JackRabbit keeps riders rolling even when there’s not a convenient AC outlet in sight.
Unveiled this week, the Solar Charging Kit consists of a single folding solar panel and a tiny voltage converter that is configured to output 42.0V, which is the exact voltage required by JackRabbit’s little e-bike batteries. There’s also an added USB-A and a USB-C charging port for powering other devices in addition to charging JackRabbit batteries.
“This Solar Charging Kit plugs directly into your bike,” explained the company, “letting you recharge without needing an outlet, but with a speed comparable to the charger that comes with the OG/OG2 (42V, 2A).”
That would mean the panel outputs around 80W of solar power, which the company says can recharge its batteries in just three hours. That fairly quick recharging speed is helped by the fact that JackRabbit’s batteries are a mere 151 Wh, or around a third of the size of most e-bike batteries.
If that sounds small, then you’re right – it is. But JackRabbit is all about going micro, offering barely 25 lb rideables that are easy to store and bring on adventures, even when they aren’t actually being ridden.
With small batteries that fit under the 160Wh limit for many airlines in the US, the batteries can be quickly charged and taken to the widest number of locations. And for riders that want to go further than a single 10-mile (16-km) battery will allow, extra batteries are small enough to fit a pants pocket. The company also offers much larger Rangebuster batteries, though they won’t pass by TSA and make it onto an airplane in your personal item.
It sounds like the Solar Chargking Kit should be able to charge up JackRabbit’s large RangeBuster batteries, though likely in more than three hours.
The $349 Solar Charging Kit is a bit pricier than building something similar yourself, but it’s also safer and more convenient than hacking together your own battery charger since it’s designed to work with JackRabbit’s batteries right out of the box.
Technically it’s only inteded for JackRabbit’s micro e-bikes (themselves technically seated scooters, even if they look and feel more like a typical bike), but it’d probably work for just about any 36V e-bike that requires 42.0V to charge.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen solar charging kits for electric bikes, and it’s a trend that is certainly appreciated by outdoors and camping enthusiasts, festival goers, or anyone who finds themself and their bike spending extended periods in the great, sunny outdoors.
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Solar generated 11% of EU electricity in 2024, overtaking coal which fell below 10% for the first time, according to the European Electricity Review published today by think tank Ember.
EU gas generation declined for the fifth year in a row, and total fossil generation fell to a historic low.
“Fossil fuels are losing their grip on EU energy,” said Dr Chris Rosslowe, senior analyst and lead author of the report. “At the start of the European Green Deal in 2019, few thought the EU’s energy transition could be where it is today; wind and solar are pushing coal to the margins and forcing gas into structural decline.”
The European Electricity Review published today by global energy think tank Ember provides the first comprehensive overview of the EU power system in 2024. It analyzes full-year electricity generation and demand data for 2024 in all EU-27 countries to understand the region’s progress in transitioning from fossil fuels to clean electricity.
Wind and solar continue their meteoric rise in the EU
The EU power sector is undergoing a deep transformation spurred on by the European Green Deal. Solar generation (11%) overtook coal (10%) for the first time in 2024, as wind (17%) generated more electricity than gas (16%) for the second year in a row.
Strong solar growth, combined with a recovery of hydropower, pushed the share of renewables to nearly half of EU power generation (47%). Fossil fuels generated 29% of the EU’s electricity in 2024. In 2019, before the Green Deal, fossil fuels provided 39% of EU electricity, while renewables provided 34%.
Solar is growing in every EU country and more than half now have either no coal power or a share below 5% in their power mix. Coal has fallen from being the EU’s third-largest power source in 2019 to the sixth-largest in 2024, bringing the end into sight for the dirtiest fossil fuel. EU gas generation also declined for the fifth year in a row (-6%) despite a very small rebound in power demand (+1%).
The EU is reaping the benefits of reduced fossil fuel dependency
The surge in wind and solar generation has reduced the EU’s reliance on imported fossil fuels and its exposure to volatile prices since the energy crisis. Ember’s analysis found that without new wind and solar capacity added over the last five years, the EU would have imported an additional 92 billion cubic meters of fossil gas and 55 million tonnes of coal, costing €59 billion.
“While the EU’s electricity transition has moved faster than anyone expected in the last five years, further progress cannot be taken for granted,” continued Rosslowe. “Delivery needs to be accelerated particularly in the wind sector, which has faced unique challenges and a widening delivery gap. Between now and 2030, annual wind additions need to more than double compared to 2024 levels. However, the achievements of the past five years should instil confidence that, with continued drive and commitment, challenges can be overcome and a more secure energy future be achieved.”
Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe said: “This milestone is about more than just climate action; it is a cornerstone of European energy security and industrial competitiveness. Renewables are steadily pushing fossil fuels to the margins, with solar leading the way. We now need more flexibility to kick-in, making sure the energy system is adapting to new realities: more storage and more smart electrification in heating, transport and industries.”
Read more: China installed a record capacity of solar and wind in 2024 – in numbers
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