Hundreds of new EV charging stations were built in Czechia last year

Hundreds of new charging stations for electric vehicles were built in the Czech Republic last year. The number of charging sessions and energy consumption also rose by tens of percent. This is according to information provided to the Czech News Agency (ČTK) by major charging station operators. At the end of last year, there were more than 2400 charging stations in Czechia, according to official statistics. Their number is expected to continue rising gradually this year, with ultra-fast charging posts the main trend.

More frequent use of charging stations is keeping pace with growing interest in electric cars. Around 22.000 electric passenger cars were registered in Czechia at the end of last year, with a total of 6640 added to the vehicle register. In addition, tens of thousands of hybrid cars, which combine electric power with a conventional combustion engine, are on the country's roads. The largest domestic operators of EV charging stations, mainly major energy companies, are responding to this trend.

The partly state-owned company ČEZ commissioned 144 new charging stations for electric cars last year, bringing its network to a total of 660 posts. Drivers charged their vehicles with almost 5,5 gigawatt-hours of energy in more than 281.000 charging sessions, a quarter more than in 2022 and five and a half times the amount recorded five years ago. The average amount of energy per charging session also increased, from 16,6 kWh to 20 kWh. The busiest stations were in Prague, the Central Bohemian Region and along the main D1, D5, D10 and D11 motorways.

Last year, ČEZ stepped up the installation of ultra-fast and fast charging stations in particular. „This year, we expect the growth in energy consumption to accelerate to more than 30 percent, primarily due to the expected faster increase in the number of electric vehicles on Czech roads. Our main goal is to speed up the construction of ultra-fast posts, with more than 80 to be commissioned,“ said ČEZ Deputy Chairman of the Board Pavel Cyrani.

Pražská energetika commissioned even more stations last year, increasing the total in its network by 169 to 660, with more than a thousand charging points. Energy consumption at its stations rose 69 percent year on year to 5,23 GWh.

„We want to continue building our public charging network in new locations while also expanding existing sites. At the same time, we want to focus more on developing private charging infrastructure, whether at family homes, in apartment buildings or at companies that are increasingly switching from combustion-engine vehicles to battery-powered ones,“ said spokesperson Karel Hanzelka, outlining the company's plans for this year.

Charging stations operated by E.ON were also considerably busier last year. The company increased the number of public charging points by 43 percent year on year to 520, at around 265 posts. Drivers drew almost two GWh of electricity from them, up 65 percent year on year. The most energy was supplied at stations with ultra-fast chargers in Rozvadov, Vystrkov and Lovosice.

„This year, we also plan to continue expanding and modernising our charging network, adding primarily higher-capacity stations, which are the current trend,“ said Martin Klíma, managing director of E.ON Drive Infrastructure. Construction work on 300 kW stations is expected to begin in the spring in locations including Hradec Králové, České Budějovice, Ústí nad Labem, Brno, Prague and Olomouc. More locations will follow during the year, according to E.ON.

Despite the recent increase, charging infrastructure in Czechia still accounts for only a small share of the EU total. Germany and the Netherlands lead the bloc in the number of charging stations. However, experts say the domestic network is currently sufficient given the still-low number of registered electric vehicles.