Prospects for the development of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in poland in the light of the regulations in force

Abstract

The Polish electric mobility market, presently at a relatively early development stage, cannot compete with traditional means of transport in relation to the number of locations enabling drivers to “refuel” their vehicles. Simultaneously, ex-tension of the network of publicly available EV charging stations constitutes a vital prerequisite for electric vehicle industry development. The feeling of range anxiety connected with limited access to suitable EV charging outlets, in particular during longer trips, discourages potential buyers from purchasing electric vehicles, and, as a result, limited demand hinders development of this industry. In January 2018, the Polish Parliament (the Sejm) passed the Act on electromobility and alternative fuels which establishes a certain system and provides a number of objectives vital for electric vehicle market development. Being aware of the fact that, at least for the first few years, infrastructure development is a key factor, the legislator, in Art. 60, section 1 of the Act, establishes a minimum number of EV charging outlets to be installed in Polish communes, by 31 December 2020. However, no detailed guidelines as to their location were given. It only indicates a minimum number of them, which should be established in communes with a given demographic and transport characteristics of the commune i.e. the number of inhabitants and motor vehicles and the number of cars per 1000 inhabitants of the commune. The purpose of this article is to indicate in which, specifically, municipalities, according to the act, electric vehicles charging outlets are to be located. Based on the analysis performed it was determined that publicly available EV charging outlets must be installed only in 32 of 2477 communes in Poland and these are municipalities. Identification of such communes made it possible to determine the distances between them, which made it possible to verify whether the network of EV charging infrastructure planned on the basis of the guidelines in the Act will enable efficient route travel in the future without experiencing any range anxiety. In addition, the existing market conditions were presented and discussed, with an indication of whether they are conducive to meeting the minimum set in the Act regarding the number of charging points. The conducted analysis is an introduction to further research on determining the optimal distribution of charging outlet in Poland.