title: Developing the Public Charging Infrastructure for Battery Electric Vehicles in Romania. Challenges and Opportunities
Creators: name: Apostol-Siegl, Simona
Publisher: name: TU Wien
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: electric mobility
subject: alternative fuels
subject: electric vehicle
subject: charging network
subject: charging station

description: The transport sector was responsible for 31% of total economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union (EU) in 2019 (IEA, 2022). There is now a considerable market momentum for electric vehicles in road transport, which are expected to play a vital role in reaching the 90% emissions reduction target set by the European Green Deal for 2050. Different studies identified charging infrastructure as one of the critical enablers of the accelerated mass adoption of electric vehicles. The Green Deal estimates that about 1 million (mn) publicly available charging stations will be needed by 2025 in the EU from 208,011 at the end of 2020 (EAFO, 2021).Only 502 public charging points were available in Romania at the end of 2020 or below 0.5% of the EU total (EAFO, 2022). Fast and even deployment of public charging infrastructure will be necessary to ensure the mass adoption of electric vehicles in allthe European countries over the following decades.This Master Thesis aims to identify the main challenges and opportunities related to the deployment of charging infrastructure in Romania. To embrace different dimensions and there by ensure a holistic view of the sector, an extensive list of criteria has been identified and evaluated through literature review, expert interviews,analysis of specialised academic publications and reports by public institutions and industry associations. The Thesis addresses the following research questions: what is the structure of the electric vehicle and charging infrastructure market, what are the signals set by decision-makers through targets, policy frameworks and promotion actions, what are the implementation steps for new charging infrastructure projects,what are the profitability drivers for investments in this sector. These aspects have been analysed from a local perspective and compared to other countries in the European Union, where the electromobility sector has already reached a more advanced stage.Charging infrastructure in Romania is in an early development phase compared to other European countries. This brings along essential opportunities and challenges for both businesses and regulators. The market offers significant room for growth for existing players and new entrants and presents yet uncovered business segments such as long-distance fast charging. Nonetheless, more favourable conditions will be needed to attract investors and secure the capital necessary to accelerate the deployment of charging infrastructure. The main challenges lay in the unevenal location of investment subsidies, strict allocation criteria and lengthy permitting process. A fair and accessible distribution of investments subsidies will play a critical role in supporting investors overcome the electric vehicle market ramp-up period and thereby solving the “chicken-or-egg” dilemma of the sector. Whether the gap versus more developed markets can be closed and the targets set by the European Unioncan be achieved depends mainly on how decision-makers will overcome these challenges and oversee the creation of a favourable business environment to attract private capital and secure necessary investment volumes.