The share of the eMobility segment in Poland is constantly increasing, offering prospects for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and smog in cities. However, this poses several challenges, with the most significant being the need to develop distribution networks and introduce legal facilitations for new connections.

Poland is catching up with leaders

Compared to the German market, some trends in the scale of the eMobility market become evident. The German electric car market grew from 54,000 vehicles to a whopping 680,000 in five years. Comparatively, it registered an annual growth of about 85%, and according to 2021 data, electric cars accounted for 26% of newly registered vehicles in Germany. 

In 2017, only 3,000 electric cars were on Polish roads. However, by the end of the third quarter of 2022, according to registration data, there were almost 55,000 such vehicles, also representing a significant 73% increase in the analyzed period. 

The share of electric vehicles among all passenger cars in Poland (19 million) is only 0.04%, while in Germany, it is already 2%. However, development forecasts are optimistic. According to estimates, by 2030, Germany will register around 15 million electric vehicles, and Poland will have nearly 1 million.

This change must be linked to the expansion of charging infrastructure.

As of the beginning of 2022, Poland had 2,500 public charging stations, mainly concentrated in large cities, such as Warsaw, which accounts for 30% of them. Compared to Germany, where only 10% of all 57,000 stations are located in such areas, much remains to be done.

Network overloads

The increasing number of electric cars and the need to expand charging station networks lead to peak load growth and increase the likelihood of overloading power grids. Charging points in the same circuit can cause uneven energy consumption, increasing the differences between peak and off-peak demand. This situation is a significant challenge for distribution system operators. The response to this challenge is proper infrastructure planning, considering local network conditions and connection implementation times. Stoen Operator in Warsaw follows this approach, as it is responsible for the area's electricity distribution.

On the one hand, the consumer expects a constant availability of maximum network power, even though they do not fully utilize it. On the other hand, the Distribution System Operator (DSO) is obligated to secure such power. Therefore, already at the network planning stage, we need to estimate the power required for a given location. To do this, we estimate the number of potential consumers or analyze how specific parts of the city will develop. It is a complex computational process.

Energy sector transformation alongside network investments

Another significant issue is the time required for new grid connections, including those for new charging points. In Poland, this process averages around 15 months. In comparison, connecting a new charging station in Germany takes only 9-13 weeks. For investors, the long waiting period increases the risks associated with the price level for goods and services. In Poland, higher legal, and regulatory barriers than in our Western neighbors often influence the prolonged waiting time for new connections. This not only hampers the development of charging station networks and the eMobility market but also, in a broader perspective, negatively impacts urban development.

The trend in Poland and Warsaw is that more power is needed. We are receiving increasingly more applications for network connections, but this is directly related to the economic development of both Warsaw and Poland. More and more new residential and industrial investments are being created. Throughout the country, we aim to solve the problem of power shortages. We need to achieve two main things: firstly, expand network investments, and secondly, digitize the system and the network, as well as meter the demand side.

The distribution network system and the network of electric vehicle charging points are connected vessels. This means that new consumer connections also translate into new opportunities for charging stations.

An important initiative currently undertaken by Stoen Operator is the expansion of the RPZ (distribution point) station in Falenica, which will allow us to achieve a higher connection limit.

In Poland, the development of the eMobility market is still in the early stages due to the relatively low share of renewable energy sources in the national energy mix. It remains below 20% of installed net generation capacity compared to 60% for Germany. Therefore, developing the charging station network is as crucial as facilitating new connections to the grid and further transforming the energy economy. A significant change in the electric mobility sector can only occur when there are solid foundations for energy production with a high share of renewable energy sources. The growing popularity of the eMobility sector provides promising prospects for Poland to achieve this goal in the coming years.  

Expert

Agnieszka Franiak, project management specialist at Stoen Operator, SN/nN Network Development