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- Track and ready: 500 hubs for charging electric cars are planned to be built in Russia
Track and ready: 500 hubs for charging electric cars are planned to be built in Russia
Russia is launching the construction of a network of electric hubs for fast charging, where up to 10 cars can be charged. By 2030, there should be about 500 of them in large cities and on their entrances , but the country's demand for such hubs is much higher. So far in the Russian Federation only one such hub is functioning in St. Petersburg and the planned number will obviously be insufficient, experts believe.
Where electric hubs will appear
By 2030 it is planned to install more than 500 hubs of fast charging for electric cars of different types, VEB.RF informed Izvestia. Investors will be operators of electric charging stations (EFS), which will provide service and operation of these points. They can be located both in cities and on the approaches to them, VEB.RF noted. They specified that they have already started to develop a program of preferential lending for these purposes.
Electric hubs are specialized stations with waiting rooms and are designed to serve several cars. One of such complexes was opened in St. Petersburg in January 2025. Taking into account the traffic of electric cars in megacities, at the first stage the construction of hubs on the roads should be carried out near cities, in an accessible radius for users, specified in VEB.RF.
By 2030 it is planned to form a backbone network of electric hubs for fast charging, allowing electric cars to travel long distances between cities. According to the program of electric transport development, the stations should be located at a distance of at least 100 km. All federal highways on the approach to major population centers are planned to be included in the perimeter of the program, VEB.RF specified.
- Projects for the development of electric transport even include the launch of intercity electric buses. Electric cars in the near future will be able to travel between Moscow, Yaroslavl, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan and St. Petersburg, which is now almost impossible due to difficulties with charging," an expert of the People's Front. Analytics" Pyotr Shkumatov.
The mileage range of budget electric cars does not exceed 250-300 kilometers and without charging infrastructure they are concentrated so far only in large cities, the expert noted.
The M-8 "Kholmogory", M-4 "Don", M-12 "Vostok" and M-11 "Neva" highways are considered as priority areas for the development of road service facilities, which may include charging stations, according to the Ministry of Transport's response to the letter of Vyacheslav Timchenko, Chairman of the Committee on Regulations of the Federation Council (available in the editorial office). The issue of EZS development at key tourist destinations was previously considered at a round table in the SF.
The creation of fast charging infrastructure, including on the above-mentioned highways, is actively discussed by the business community in dialog with agencies. This is a complex issue, as investors need to ensure the growth of charging sessions per day by six to eight times compared to the current level in order to recoup the projects. The cost of one hub for 10 cars is more than 100 million rubles, VEB.RF added.
Thus, the cost of the entire project of 500 hubs may amount to about 50 billion rubles.
- The number of owners of electric cars is growing in Russia. At the same time, we note an increase in domestic tourist traffic," Oleg Zemtsov, a member of the Federation Council, told Izvestia.
According to Avtostat, 17,805 new electric cars will be sold in 2024, which is 26.4% more than in 2023 (14,089 units). The market leader was the Chinese brand Zeekr, which sold 7,623 cars in Russia, however, all of them were imported under parallel schemes. The second place is held by Moskvich 3e - 1796 electric cars, and the third - Evolute (1226 units). In total, about 60 thousand electric cars are registered in our country, which is less than 1% of the total fleet. At the same time, only 7.4 thousand charging points have been put into operation, which is not enough.
"Izvestia" sent inquiries to the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Economic Development.
How to develop a network of charging stations
- Despite the fact that the share of electric cars in Russia does not yet exceed 1% of the total number of passenger cars, the popularity of this type of transportation is steadily increasing," Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Consumer Initiative (PCI), told Izvestia. - And it is necessary to provide the accompanying infrastructure for them.
Electric transport in the existing realities is not too convenient for long-distance travel, noted vice-president of the National Automobile Union, auto expert Anton Shaparin.
- "It' s not just the number, but also the presence of several different charging standards," he told Izvestia.
Since electric cars are developing differently in different markets, there are several parallel standards for charging systems in the world - American, European, Japanese and Chinese. In Russia, a large number of electric cars are imported haphazardly and there are thousands of units on the roads that need different systems, the expert notes.
- There are cases when the owner of a Zeekr can't charge the car because the item doesn't have a GB/T connector," Anton Shaparin continued. - There are adapters, but they cause glitches in the software. As a result, the station reduces power, and instead of a quick half-hour charge, the owner has to wait several hours before his electric car moves.
According to Rostec, the new 60 kW and 150 kW EZSs are equipped with a GB/T connector (for Chinese electric cars). As part of software revisions, the EZSs receive updated charging protocols.
- There are questions about the economics of such points," said Pyotr Shkumatov. - The price of energy at such hubs fluctuates around 20 rubles, and at some EHSs it reaches 22-23 rubles per kW. In terms of travel costs it is comparable to a passenger car, which spends 6-7 liters of gasoline on the highway.
In the current realities, electric cars are beneficial for people living in their own homes. They charge their cars at the night tariff for 2.7 rubles per kWh from the home power grid and drive 150-200 kilometers during the day, the expert noted. According to his calculations, such operation can save about 300 thousand rubles a year on fuel.
In general, without state support charging stations on highways are unprofitable for business, said auto expert Igor Morzharetto. According to him, if their number is increased with state support, the traffic will increase, but it is important not to rush and to develop the infrastructure in a balanced way. Often an electric car is the third car in the family, it is used mainly in cities for short distances. For longer trips, owners switch to conventional cars with internal combustion engines.
The planned number of stations, of course, is not enough, and queues for charging are already accumulating in some places, Pyotr Shkumatov added. According to him, the state can give the first impetus in the form of subsidies and benefits for the development of the network. This is what they do in China, where there are already 2.5 million charging stations , and the number of electric cars is approaching 25 million units. The growth in the number of charging stations can spur not only the sales of electric cars, but also the development of the automotive industry, the expert believes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
