There are increasing opportunities on the Polish market related to the rapidly developing electromobility. Sales of new electric cars are breaking new records year by year. What does this involve? Thousands more cars that hit the market every year require charging points. In the article below, we suggest what you should take care of when preparing to open an electric car charging station .
Electromobility trend
According to estimates by the German Center Automotive Management institute, by the end of 2022 there will be buyers of over 6.5 million electric cars around the world, which is an increase of 50 percent. A spectacular increase in the number of registrations of such cars also applies to Poland. According to the report Electromobility in Poland: investments, trends, employment , developed with the participation of Bergman Engineering, in 2021 there was an increase in sales of electric cars in Poland by as much as 120%.
Check electric vehicle charging systems
All this makes opening a new electric car charging station a lucrative venture. Unlike a gas station, the construction of which can cost from PLN 2 to 6 million, the cost of creating a charging station is much lower. An investment in AC chargers costs several dozen thousand zlotys, which makes the entry threshold into this industry much lower compared to the fossil fuel sector. Of course, purchasing equipment is just one of many elements that need to be taken care of.
What requirements must be met to open an electric vehicle charging station?
The formalities that must be completed in the case of building a new charging station are specified in the Act on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels of February 22, 2018. The first of the facilitations adopted in this Act is the lack of the need to obtain a building permit. The second convenience is exemption from the obligation to hold a license to sell electricity. To set up a charging point, you only need to fulfill the following formalities (in addition to the procedures necessary when setting up any business):
Notification of construction works
When building a charging station , you can use a simplified procedure . Instead of a building permit, it is enough to report construction works to the district office or city hall. The application must be accompanied by a map showing the location of the device. You will also need to declare the right to use the property for construction purposes.
Check electric vehicle charging systems
Geodetic as-built inventory
After completing the investment, it will be necessary to perform an as-built surveying inventory. This is a task for a certified surveyor who will perform site and height measurements. This is necessary so that the station can be marked on a numerical map and thus be included in the state geodetic and cartographic resources.
Technical inspection performed by the Office of Technical Inspection
Stations that are publicly accessible must meet applicable standards. The most important issue is appropriate electrical protection - detailed requirements and the scope of necessary documentation are specified in the regulation of the Minister of Energy of June 26, 2019. It includes the types of tests that charging stations and points are subject to, as well as the method and deadlines for carrying them out. Technical inspection of new stations is performed by the Office of Technical Inspection (UDT) and is carried out upon request (UDT has 30 days to perform the test, counting from the date of submission of the complete application). In this case, the most important thing is the technical documentation, which includes, among others, the declaration of conformity issued by the manufacturer or distributor.
Entering the station into the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Register
Each publicly accessible charging station should provide the necessary information to the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Register . This requirement can be met by installing a module that will communicate with EIPA. Appropriate software will also be necessary to transfer the required data in the appropriate format to the records. Thanks to this, the new station will be placed on a nationwide map including all charging stations.
It is worth noting that Onninen has been on this map since 2019.
Check electric vehicle charging systems
A proven method that will quickly create new charging stations for electric vehicles
The most important thing from the driver's point of view is the charging time. How long does it take to replenish energy? Charging a car with alternating current will take slightly longer than with direct current. However, this is not so important when charging an electric car in a place where it will be parked for a long time anyway, such as in a parking lot at work or at a hotel. In this case , installing a charger may have a positive impact on the image of such an entity as an eco-friendly entrepreneur. Importantly, such an investment does not have to be expensive.
Free-standing and wall-mounted chargers, such as wallboxes , available from Onninen, will work well here.
Free-standing charger for electric vehicles
In the case of a station that is to be available to all customers willing to pay for energy, free-standing chargers will be the best option. Due to their structure (they resemble a post) , they can be installed, for example, next to a parking lot, sidewalk or hotel .
For example, the LS4M-T222WO-3G model has a power of 2 x 22 kW, is equipped with a meter to facilitate energy measurement and a Type 2 socket - the most popular in Europe. Its purchase costs approximately PLN 20,000. Similar parameters, at a slightly lower price (approx. PLN 18,500), are offered by the LS4M-T222WO-LAN model - it has the same power, meter and Type 2 socket. Unlike the first model, it requires wired communication.
Designer Wallbox PCE EV 11 charger with a power of 11 kW
An alternative to free-standing chargers are wallboxes - usually cheaper, which work well for smaller charging stations (e.g. for employees, company fleet or hotel guests). They offer a number of amenities, e.g. the PCE EV 11 model can be installed both indoors and outdoors . This is possible because the housing is made of weather-resistant plastic, thanks to which the entire product has an IP44 tightness level. The housing cover is made of powder-coated steel, which provides an extremely elegant look. The charger can be mounted not only on a wall, but also on a column, which significantly expands the possibilities of mounting such a device.
Choose a popular connector. GC EV PowerBox 22 kW wallbox with Type 2 cable
Every electric car is equipped with a charging socket. In Europe, the most common type of plug is Type 2 , also called Mennekes after the manufacturer's name. The EV14 charger from Green Cell is equipped with a cable with this type of connector. The cable length is 6 meters, which allows for convenient connection to the car.
Safety is the basis. Get to know the GC EV Power Box 22 kW wallbox with an RFID card reader
The reader protects against unauthorized use of the station. To activate it , an RFID card is required, which allows the user to turn on the device and start the charging process . This model is not equipped with a charging cable, which makes it possible to connect both cars equipped with a type 1 and type 2 socket. Just use a plug that fits into the vehicle's socket on one side and into the type 2 socket on the other. this charger is equipped with.
High-power charger, i.e. SOL EVPOWER 22 kW wallbox
Thanks to the possibility of connecting the charger to a three-phase installation, you can achieve a charging power of up to 22 kW. This is the highest value that can be achieved when charging with alternating current. Even though the speed of charging the vehicle with alternating current depends on the power of the car's internal charger, it is worth choosing a wallbox with maximum power . This will ensure that each vehicle uses its full charging speed potential.
An additional convenience in using this model is the ability to be operated via an application. All you need is for the charging station to be within Wi-Fi range.
Onninen charging stations
So far, Onninen has opened three charging stations - in Teolin near Łódź and in Gdańsk and Toruń. And this is not the end, because in the near future more chargers will be launched at points located at Onninen Express branches in Opole and Lublin. Additionally, the Onninen company car fleet includes an electric vehicle in the form of Skoda Enyaq. All this means that specialists from this company not only sell chargers, but also use them on a daily basis.
What are the benefits of electric car charging stations?
First of all, it is an investment in a rapidly developing industry. At this stage, entering this business will allow you to get ahead of the competition. The image of the company as ecological and investing in new technologies is also important. This will happen even if the newly opened station will not have a commercial character. In this case, it is worth noting that chargers for private and non-public use, i.e. those that are not publicly available (such as in parking lots for employees, hotel guests or in garage halls of housing communities), are exempt from testing in accordance with the regulation. UDT . This significantly facilitates the completion of formalities related to the launch of a private charging station.