Studies & analyses on the charging infrastructure in Germany
The National Centre for Charging Infrastructure initiates studies and conducts comprehensive data and market analyses on the expansion and operation of public and private charging infrastructure.
The aim is to precisely record the current status of the charging infrastructure in Germany, identify challenges at an early stage and determine future requirements in a well-founded manner.
The results provide an important Basis for political decisions, funding programs and strategic development of electromobility. You can find an overview of our studies and analyses here.
Studies - Scientific basis for the expansion
The National Centre for Charging Infrastructure commissions studies or prepares them itself if there is insufficient data or reliable findings on key issues relating to the expansion of the charging infrastructure. The studies provide well-founded scenarios, analyses and recommendations for action and thus form an important basis for decision-making in politics, business and administration.
One example of this is the studies „Charging infrastructure after 2025/20230: scenarios for market charging“ and „Simply charge at home“
The study „Charging infrastructure after 2025/2030: Scenarios for the market ramp-up“ (updated new edition November 2024) determines the charging demand in Germany until 2030.
The Reiner Lemoine Institute (RLI) worked with the control center to further develop the model for the new 2024 edition and carried out the calculation. The results of the study provide an important data basis for determining requirements in the StandortTOOL. An important basis for this study is the study published by NOW GmbH in April 2024 Manufacturer survey on market development and technology trends for electric cars.
The most important findings:
- Depending on the scenario, the study calculates an installed charging capacity of 15.7 to 22.6 GW.
- This corresponds to a demand of 380,000 to 680,000 publicly accessible charging points, of which 55,000 to 90,000 are HPC charging points with a charging capacity of over 150 kW. The reference scenario, which combines the basic assumptions, results in a demand of 520,000 charging points, 68,000 of which are HPC charging points.
- The total amount of electrical energy loaded into electric cars amounts to 37.8 TWh - with publicly accessible charging infrastructure providing between 36 and 50 percent of this energy, depending on the scenario.
- The number of non-publicly accessible charging points at home and in companies has a major influence on the necessary publicly accessible charging infrastructure.
- The HPC scenario, which focuses on HPC charging infrastructure, reduces the total number of publicly accessible charging points required as the number of HPC charging points increases, while the installed charging capacity remains fairly constant compared to the reference scenario.
The „Simply charge at home“ study provides an insight into the charging behavior of private individuals with an electric vehicle and their own wallbox.
The most important findings for the charging infrastructure in Germany:
- The vast majority of charging processes take place in non-public areas at private homes or on company premises.
- The charging behavior is very clearly influenced by whether a photovoltaic system is available or not.
- Free charging offers at the workplace have the strongest influence on the amount of energy charged at home - they significantly reduce the share of home charging in the total charging volume.
- The detailed raw data is stored via the Mobilithek made available.
Analyses - data-based insights into the market
In addition to studies, the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure conducts its own Data and market analysis like the so-called Cleanroom talks and prepares complex issues relating to the charging infrastructure in a clear and understandable way. The results are published in the form of factsheets, for example.
The analysis is based on data from around 28,000 subsidized publicly accessible charging points and looks at the period from 2018 to 2024. It shows how the use of public charging points of the charging infrastructure in Germany has developed over several years.
Key findings:
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The use of public charging points is between Continuously increased in 2018 and 2022 and then stabilized slightly.
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Charging points are average occupied for about 2.3 hours per day, which corresponds to a time utilization of around 10 % corresponds.
- Average values are only of limited informative value, as key aspects of the complex charging behavior are not taken into account: Utilization depends largely on the time of day, the location and sometimes the season. This means that even with low average capacity utilization, there can be significant peaks during the course of the day.
This is how charging points Most frequently used at lunchtime, while capacity utilization is significantly lower at night. In Metropolitan areas charging points are used more frequently overall than in rural regions. In Vacation regions utilization increases significantly during vacation periods and on public holidays.
The factsheet „Installed charging capacity“ presents the different ways of calculating the installed charging capacity in a transparent manner and thus serves as a basis for a conceptual differentiation.
Cleanroom talks
A special instrument of market analysis are so-called Cleanroom talks. This is a confidential survey that complies with antitrust law and provides a direct Exchange between NOW GmbH and industry on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport.
The discussions also enable the exchange of sensitive data sets and provide valuable insights into technological developments and market trends. This information serves the National Charging Infrastructure Control Center as a basis for forecasting demand.
The cleanroom concept was first introduced in 2020. with car manufacturers used and was held for the third time after 2022/23 in 2025. The concept has also been transferred to other areas, such as Truck manufacturer and Operators of charging infrastructure, several cleanroom discussions have already taken place.
Climate-friendly cars in Germany: manufacturer survey on sales forecasts and technology trends 2025
Published: April 2026
Between July and September 2025, NOW GmbH conducted surveys with German and international car manufacturers (OEMs) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport. These were carried out in accordance with antitrust law and included personal discussions as well as a structured data query on sales forecasts for the period 2026 to 2030. It serves the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure as a basis for its demand forecasts.
Market development of climate-friendly technologies in heavy road freight transport
Published: November 2024
The evaluations provide important insights for planning the development of refueling and charging infrastructure for zero-emission heavy commercial vehicles. They also provide information that can serve as a basis for the decisions of other key players and stakeholders involved in the market ramp-up. In addition to infrastructure providers and the energy industry, these include in particular users such as transport, freight forwarding and logistics companies.
