Electromobility & charging station infrastructure
Complexity of installing charging stations for electric vehicles on the HHU campus
There are currently no charging stations for electric vehicles in the HHU car parks and the number of – justified – inquiries and wishes expressed about charging infrastructure is on the rise. The growing importance of electromobility within the framework of the transition to eco-friendly transportation is increasing the pressure on the University to position itself as a modern location for study, research and work, which offers solutions to meet the changing commuting habits of its members. However, this is unfortunately taking longer than we would like due to legal framework conditions and technical challenges. Those responsible for the project are facing numerous issues, which we report on here.
This page provides an overview of the latest developments and explains the obstacles to the installation of charging stations on campus.
There is currently no charging infrastructure on the University campus that can be used by the public and University members. It is also not currently possible to provide a date for any installation of charging stations, as numerous obstacles are hindering this.
There are a few private charging options available/in preparation for a small number of service vehicles for security staff and the University administration, but it is not possible to make these options available to third parties.
Initial talks about a public charging infrastructure, which would have to be operated by external companies due to legal conditions, are currently being held with relevant stakeholders.
HHU operates its own medium-voltage power grid to supply electricity to the buildings and systems on campus. Pursuant to the Energy Industry Act (Energiewirtschaftsgesetz – EnWG), this distribution network needed for the transportation of electricity at HHU is classed as an end-customer system for in-house supply (“Kundenanlage zur betrieblichen Eigenversorgung”). This classification is necessary to ensure the University is not considered as a power supply company, which would have numerous legal consequences.
If HHU were to connect public charging stations to this end-customer system in the future, it would risk losing this status, as it would be supplying energy to third parties. It would also lead to invoicing and tax law issues.
Consequently, any charging infrastructure must be installed and marketed by an external company independently of the University power grid to avoid HHU being classed as a power supply company.
As the charging infrastructure cannot be connected to the HHU power grid due to the legal conditions described above, connections to the public power grid – which is operated by Netzgesellschaft Düsseldorf (the company responsible for the power grid in Düsseldorf) – must be established. High voltages are needed for charging stations and, due to the location of the campus, there is currently not enough grid capacity available near the parking areas where they could be installed. Either there are no power lines at all nearby or they do not have sufficient capacity to accommodate further users.
This means that any company wishing to operate charging stations on campus would first need to agree an expansion of the power grid from a nearby sub-station to HHU with Netzgesellschaft Düsseldorf and then realise this. Such an expansion takes time and the companies involved must consider the economic aspects.
The BLB NRW is reviewing options for an initiative aimed at expanding charging infrastructure at its facilities in the state. However, due to the large number of state facilities and universities in NRW, it must be expected that the BLB NRW will not be able to provide a charging infrastructure for all relevant facilities in the near future. HHU is also already holding talks with the BLB NRW on this topic.
Details will be provided as soon as concrete plans and information about the possible scope and start-up periods for charging stations become available. However, due to the complexity of the project, we must ask all University members to remain patient for the time being.