More accessibility for charging infrastructure

As part of the Charging Infrastructure Master Plan II, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV) has initiated the development of guidelines for barrier-free charging infrastructure. The result of this measure is the new DIN SPEC 91504 „Barrier-free charging infrastructure for electric vehicles“, which has now been published by the German Institute for Standardization (DIN).

The application of the DIN SPEC should make it possible for people with disabilities to find, access and use charging infrastructure easily and without assistance. The DIN SPEC can be used to define specific requirements for publicly accessible charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in terms of accessibility.

On behalf of the BMDV, the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure under the umbrella of NOW GmbH initiated and led the process for the development of DIN SPEC 91504 at DIN. The committee that developed and approved the DIN SPEC involved stakeholders from the mobility and energy sector, manufacturers of charging facilities, operating companies, interest groups for people with disabilities and representatives from the federal, state and local authorities.

Daniela Kluckert, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport and Federal Government Commissioner for Charging Station InfrastructureBarrier-free mobility is one of the key prerequisites for people with disabilities or other restrictions for their self-determined participation in social life and equal opportunities. More and more people are using electric cars on the roads and need a charging infrastructure that is easily accessible and usable for everyone. The Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and Transport has therefore pushed ahead with the publication of the DIN SPEC. It is an essential step towards greater accessibility in electromobility.„

As part of the „Charging Infrastructure Master Plan II“, the BMDV set itself the goal of developing technical requirements to enable the use of charging infrastructure for people with disabilities. Together with numerous relevant stakeholders, the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure initially developed the guideline „Easy charging without barriers“, which was published in April 2023. The guideline also served as the basis for the development of the DIN SPEC. This describes technical and other requirements for barrier-free charging facilities and their surroundings and can be used, for example, in tenders for charging infrastructure to be installed.

Johannes Pallasch, Head of the National Charging Infrastructure Control Center under the umbrella of NOW GmbH: „With DIN SPEC 91504, we are now providing a well-founded answer to the question of how charging infrastructure can be designed to be barrier-free. On this basis, accessibility can be specifically taken into account when planning charging infrastructure. In this way, we can achieve real progress for people's mobility needs.“

DIN SPEC 91504 can generally be used for the planning, design and equipment of publicly accessible and non-publicly accessible charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. This applies to the construction as well as to conversions and extensions or modernization projects of existing charging infrastructure. In particular, municipalities as well as manufacturers and operators of charging infrastructure can be supported.

DIN SPEC 91504 can be downloaded free of charge as a PDF from the publisher DIN Media. The creation process was financed by the ELSTA project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK). The aim of this project is to further establish electromobility in Germany through standardization. Compared to a DIN standard, a DIN SPEC can generally be implemented more quickly and is therefore particularly suitable for establishing standards for technical innovations.

Link to the DIN SPEC 91504

Link to the Guide „Easy charging without obstacles“