Today, the EC came up with a €200 million (yes, with an m!) guarantee fund for innovative nuclear technologies and now we will have operational SMRs by the early 2030s. Call me sceptical :)
Now even more important than a fortnight ago. We must utilise all available clean flexibility. A useful checklist to ensure that policymakers and regulators do not neglect this potential.
and it’s also equipped to transport dangerous goods, such as batteries :)
Good news: First electric ferry at the Rødby-Puttgarden crossing now in service.
(Due to the delays of the Fehmarn Belt tunnel, the electrification makes extra good sense, both in economic and climate terms).
baltictransportjournal.com/index.php?id... #dktrp #dkgreen
However, Germany is not known for low electricity prices. How is this supposed to work? Pallasch: Of course we are not the country with the cheapest electricity, but the stock market electricity price is not high around the clock. There are favorable time windows. This is where the sector coupling comes into play: How can a well-calculated, flexible industry such as logistics optimize itself against the energy system? If a truck is parked for eight hours, it does not necessarily have to be loaded in the most expensive hour. In order to be able to pass on these price signals to the end customer, we rely on the so-called transit model.
What does this mean specifically for the freight forwarder? Pallasch: Currently, a favorable stock exchange electricity price at the charging station often does not reach the customer at all, because the operator is in between. The transit model breaks this barrier. We are virtually decoupling the infrastructure from the energy procurement. This enables competition at the access level. In our tenders, we are looking for those operators who make the cheapest offer for the users - and not those who pay the state the highest concession fees, which they would later have to recover from the customer via excessive electricity prices.
Nevertheless, many logisticians fear that the expansion of the charging infrastructure will not keep up with vehicle sales. What's the pace here? Pallasch: There is a two-track strategy for maximum speed. First of all, the federal government has ordered the network connections on the federal motorways very early and proactively - even before it is clear who will operate the locations later. This saves a lot of time. Secondly, the tenders for the operators, for example for the truck fast charging network, are running at unmanaged rest areas. We have dimensioned the network connections in such a way that we can electrify 80 percent of the truck parking spaces at many locations. We have to think big here instead of taking triple steps.
Key messages translated here:
Deutschland ist allerdings nicht für günstige Strompreise bekannt. Wie soll das funktionieren? Pallasch: Natürlich sind wir nicht das Land mit dem günstigsten Strom, aber der Börsenstrompreis ist nicht rund um die Uhr hoch. Es gibt günstige Zeitfenster. Hier kommt die Sektorkopplung ins Spiel: Wie kann sich eine gut rechnende, flexible Branche wie die Logistik gegen das Energiesystem optimieren? Wenn ein Lkw acht Stunden steht, muss er nicht zwingend in der teuersten Stunde laden. Um diese Preissignale an den Endkunden weitergeben zu können, setzen wir auf das sogenannte Durchleitungsmodell.
Was bedeutet das konkret für den Spediteur? Pallasch: Aktuell kommt ein günstiger Börsenstrompreis an der Ladesäule oft gar nicht beim Kunden an, weil der Betreiber dazwischen steht. Das Durchleitungsmodell bricht diese Barriere auf. Wir entkoppeln quasi die Infrastruktur von der Energiebeschaffung. Das ermöglicht Wettbewerb auf der Zugangsebene. Wir suchen in unseren Ausschreibungen diejenigen Betreiber, die das günstigste Angebot für die Nutzerinnen und Nutzer machen - und nicht jene, die dem Staat die höchsten Konzessionsgebühren zahlen, welche sie sich später über überhöhte Strompreise vom Kunden zurückholen müssten.
Viele Logistiker fürchten dennoch, dass der Ausbau der Ladeinfrastruktur nicht mit den Fahrzeugverkäufen Schritt hält. Wie ist hier das Tempo? Pallasch: Es gibt eine zweispurige Strategie für maximales Tempo. Erstens hat der Bund sehr frühzeitig und proaktiv die Netzanschlüsse an den Bundesautobahnen bestellt - noch bevor klar ist, wer die Standorte später betreibt. Das spart enorm Zeit. Zweitens laufen die Ausschreibungen für die Betreiber, etwa für das Lkw-Schnellladenetz an unbewirtschafteten Rastanlagen. Wir haben die Netzanschlüsse so dimensioniert, dass wir an vielen Standorten perspektivisch 80 Prozent der Lkw-Stellplätze elektrifizieren können. Wir müssen hier groß denken, statt in Trippelschritten voranzugehen.
What Germany is doing right for public HDV charging:
- Early grid applications w/ forward-looking capacity
- Not one electricity price, but many. How do you give users access to these?
- Tenders for the best offer for the user, not recouping costs later with high prices
www.man.eu/corporate/de...
For several years now, public EV charging points in Amsterdam have also been used to provide temporary power supplies for construction projects and events, for example. The city is now actively promoting this as an alternative to diesel generators on construction sites.
10695 public charging points (10/03/2026) 2035: 2035 2018 0
Brussels 🇧🇪 has reached the milestone of 10,000 public EV charging points. This is an impressive achievement, considering that eight years ago, at the start of the coordinated roll-out, there were almost none.
electrify.brussels/en
Not going to happen. Not sure why people keep fooling themselves on this. berthub.eu/articles/pos...
In the Netherlands, public AC charging points are increasingly being used as a temporary power supply. This is a major advantage of having a dense network. For example, they can be used to power mobile polling stations.
For several years now, public EV charging points in Amsterdam have also been used to provide temporary power supplies for construction projects and events, for example. The city is now actively promoting this as an alternative to diesel generators on construction sites.
Imagine,
visiting a country like Germany with your rental EV
thinking of treating the fam on a Happy Meal🍟
and then
the charging costs more than 6 Happy Meals (six passengers, six meals)
why, Deutschland, why
#alwaysbecharging
--> € 0,84/kWh adhoc, McDonald's?! <--
If you have made the wrong regulation, it is better to change it, than relaxing the enforcement.
www.linkedin.com/posts/sorenh...
We're looking to evaluate trade-offs in policy design, explore the most effective form of public spending, and discuss whether grants targeted for low-income households actually achieve their goals.
What other research questions related to subsidies do you have in mind? What could we explore?
HELP WANTED: What makes a heat pump grant effective? Or any clean energy tech subsidy, for that matter?
In an upcoming paper, my RAP colleagues and I are aiming to answer this question and many others related to effective support for heat pumps in Europe.
🔌💡
“De gemeente koos daarom niet voor elektrische auto's maar voor diesels.”
Of hoe ‘netcongestie’ de supersmoes is voor iedereen die niet wil nadenken
UK drivers reveal why they are not switching to EVs: misinformation
Many drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles are significantly misinformed about EVs
51% of non-EV drivers could correctly answer only 2 or fewer out of 10 statements about EVs
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news...
Kinderwagen, Senioren, Rollstuhlfahrer, ein Knöllchen, das 5 Liter Diesel kostet (morgen nur noch 3) – all das stört deutsche Autofahrer nicht. Aber die Schadenshaftung?
“Eneco-klanten die al eerder in de piloot stapten, bespaarden gemiddeld 16€ per maand op hun verbruik. Daarboven komt ook nog de beloning voor de flexibiliteit, die gemiddeld 13€ per maand bedraagt. Samen goed voor €29 besparing per klant per maand, of meer dan 300€ per jaar.“
“De sturing houdt rekening met dynamische elektriciteitsprijzen, zonnepanelen en het verbruikspatroon van de eigenaar. Denk aan inschatten wanneer er warm water nodig is, of al een beetje voorverwarmen op momenten van veel zonne-energie.“
The key growth opportunity in heavy-duty vehicle electrification lies in the integration (or symbiotic combination) of routing, financing, access, energy, contract, and fleet management.
In 2024-25 the Netherlands had a populist-right government that yanked away a price floor and let the country’s budding heat-pump industry collapse. How many more Dutch households might have gotten off gas by now if they hadn’t?
No, that should not be allowed. But then again, who enforces that? For the time being, it is up to individuals to complain.
The requirement to put motorway (charging) services out to tender is in line with European law; a new service cannot simply be added to an existing concession. And that tender must involve competition between the bidders, according to clear criteria (set by the contracting authority).
.. charging in Germany is now clearly not as simple as refuelling (clear price and unambiguous payment method), but a patchwork of apps and subscriptions per provider.
.. (and roaming) prices, and then only charging a reasonable price with a subscription (whether free or not). Instead of a simple, straightforward and, above all, affordable charging experience, ..
.. off the ground and is working on coverage – but not at the pace originally envisaged (in anticipation of EV growth, as a stimulus for further EV growth). And when it comes to pricing, you see that in Germany, despite the European AFIR, the practice has emerged of charging very high ad hoc ..
.. (legal) wrangling. And because of that wrangling and the adjustments, the third aim was also dropped.
What remains is a kind of subsidy mechanism, not competition to achieve the best social outcome (public finances and user costs). Now, after much delay, the Deutschlandnetz is slowly getting ..
