More and more people can imagine switching to an electric car or have already done so. One obstacle is still the availability of charging facilities. Especially in apartment buildings and densely populated neighborhoods in general, it is often not possible to set up your own charging infrastructure. "That's why it's important to me that we enable the expansion of charging infrastructure by private providers in public spaces and thus access to charging infrastructure. The city merely provides suitable public spaces and therefore bears no economic risk," says Mayor Sabine Groß.
Since the first public charging station was installed in Senefelder Straße at the end of 2024, the expansion of the charging network in public spaces in Offenbach has been making steady progress. "To date, the operating companies Qwello, EVO AG and EZE Network have installed 46 charging points at 20 locations. In the future, up to 50 charging points are to be installed throughout the city," says Groß.
The demand for charging in public spaces is difficult to predict. The development depends on the number of e-car registrations, which in turn will depend on the purchase price and purchasing power. The expansion of charging facilities in other locations plays a major role, as more and more DIY stores, supermarkets, employers and private households are creating charging facilities.
Due to the competition for use in public spaces, only a basic supply of charging infrastructure should be installed there and the overall development in the above-mentioned areas should be monitored with regard to the expansion of charging infrastructure. The operating companies can install additional charging points if the charging points are fully utilized. They can then submit ongoing applications for special use of public space.
"The higher the utilization of the charging stations, the more public spaces will be released in the future. The concept for the expansion of charging infrastructure thus takes increasing demand into account from the outset and enables further expansion in line with demand," concludes Sabine Groß.
Background:
The city of Offenbach uses the so-called "polygon principle" when allocating public areas for the charging stations. For this purpose, the city area was divided into 40 sub-areas, each of which is managed by a single operating company. This gives the operating companies the certainty that no other charging station operator will be added in the immediate vicinity. This prerogative is linked to the condition that the charging demand in the respective area constantly meets the charging needs of the population. If demand is high, expansion is required.
Special use permits for the installation of charging points in public spaces can only be applied for within the respective sub-area (polygon) at locations that the city administration considers to be suitable. A list of requirements was drawn up in advance for this purpose. The locations are examined by a working group consisting of numerous offices and departments of the city administration.