Which chargers suit which site?
The shops ask for something extra: AC charge points for staff, who park for eight hours.
The developer adds six 22 kW points at the far end of the car park, on the existing connection.
The questionWhy do staff get slow chargers and travellers fast ones?
| The stay | Power class | |
|---|---|---|
| Motorway hubtravellers on a long trip | a stop on the way | high power, 150 kW and more |
| Retail car parkshopping, a meal | the time of a visit | normal or high power |
| Workplacestaff during the day | the working day | normal power, up to 22 kW |
| Hotelguests overnight | the night | normal power, up to 22 kW |
| Residential streetresidents without a driveway | the night | normal power, up to 22 kW |
Power classes as AFIR defines them: normal power up to 22 kW, high power above. Along the TEN-T core network, AFIR requires charging pools with points of at least 150 kW. The German charging study sorts sites the same way, with high-power charging on long trips at motorway hubs. A site can combine both, as this retail park does.
Time makes up for power
Energy is power multiplied by time. A car that stands for eight hours can get up to 88 kWh from an 11 kW charge point, limited only by what its battery can take. A car that stops for 25 minutes needs a fast charger to get a useful amount in time.
The charging study puts it the same way: the power decides whether a given amount of energy is charged slowly over a long stay or quickly in a short one. That is why fast chargers suit places where stops are short, and slow chargers places where they are long. The units are explained in eMobility and EV basics, stop 04.
Cost per charge point
- Normal power charge points need little grid capacity each, so several can often share an existing connection, as the six points here do.
- High-power chargers draw many times as much, and the grid connection is priced by its power: in Germany, the one-off contribution is calculated from the power of the connection. They have to be used often to pay back.
What is inside each kind is the subject of Charging hardware.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
A car stands at work for 8 hours on an 11 kW charge point. How much energy can it get?
Energy equals power times time: 11 kW × 8 h = 88 kWh, limited only by what the battery can take.
Why do fast chargers suit places where stops are short?
Time makes up for power, and the other way round. With only 25 minutes, power has to be high.
Why could the AC points for staff open months before the fast chargers?
Six AC points fit within the existing connection. The fast chargers wait for the new medium-voltage connection.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Article 2(31) and (37): high-power and normal power recharging points, and Article 3(4)(a): 150 kW points along the TEN-T core network. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 13 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
- Nationale Leitstelle Ladeinfrastruktur and Reiner Lemoine Institut: Ladeinfrastruktur nach 2025/2030: Szenarien für den Markthochlauf, new edition 2024: charging use cases and the role of charging power. https://reiner-lemoine-institut.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Studie_Ladeinfrastruktur-2025-2030_Neuauflage-2024.pdf. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- LEIFIphysik (FWU Institut für Film und Bild): Grundwissen: Elektrische Energie, E = P · t. https://www.leifiphysik.de/elektrizitaetslehre/elektrische-energie/grundwissen/elektrische-energie. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- Nationale Leitstelle Ladeinfrastruktur and Reiner Lemoine Institut: Ladeinfrastruktur nach 2025/2030: Szenarien für den Markthochlauf, new edition 2024: charging use cases and the role of charging power. https://reiner-lemoine-institut.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Studie_Ladeinfrastruktur-2025-2030_Neuauflage-2024.pdf. Checked 13 Oct 2026.
- Bundesnetzagentur: Positionspapier zur Erhebung von Baukostenzuschüssen, Beschlusskammer 8, 20 November 2024. https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Beschlusskammern/BK08/BK8_06_Netzentgelte/70_BKZ/BK8_BKZ.html. Checked 11 Oct 2026.