The unstoppable rise of e-mobility
Among Europe's leaders in the number of charging stations
In the European context, and relative to the number of electric vehicles on our roads, the Czech charging infrastructure is at a top level. There are currently almost 4,500 public charging points in the country – more, incidentally, than conventional filling stations. In the Czech Republic there is now one filling station for every 1,600 combustion-engine cars, and one charging station for no more than five electric vehicles. The once familiar argument that there is nowhere to charge electric vehicles has therefore long ceased to apply.
But extensive infrastructure is not everything
For e-mobility to keep pace with conventional cars, the standards of EV charging need to match those of refuelling at filling stations, where everything is faster and every available form of payment can be used. In practical terms, that means shortening the average vehicle charging time and extending the options for paying for a charge to include contactless card payment.
Major energy companies are already working on the first condition – among them Pražská energetika, ČEZ and E.ON Drive Infrastructure CZ, which are gradually building further hubs with ultra-fast charging.
And what about the second condition – introducing direct contactless card payment? This important step, which will bring payment for EV charging closer to the filling-station standard, is up to us – the payment technology specialists. We know that introducing accessible payment systems is also essential from the European Commission's point of view. Under the “Fit for 55” package, contactless payment terminals should be installed at all charging stations from 2025. We are aware of this commitment and, together with our business partners, are gradually integrating payment technologies into a growing variety of charging stations.
We were there at the start
In April last year, we had the opportunity to be present at the birth of the first public E.ON Drive charging station in the Czech Republic to combine an ultra-fast 90 kW output with contactless card payment. The station is located in front of the railway station in Strakonice and is operated by E.ON Drive Infrastructure.
Not only is this charging station the most powerful in the South Bohemian Region, but thanks to our payment technology you can now also pay at it contactlessly by payment card, even as an unregistered customer. Together with our business partner Siemens, we implemented the Ingenico Self/2000 unattended payment terminal, which enables fast acceptance of contactless payments, into the Unity 90 charging station. EV drivers therefore simply tap their payment card, smartwatch or NFC-enabled phone and pay for the charge contactlessly by means of pre-authorisation. Users no longer need to carry RFID cards from various companies or install their apps, which until now made charging stations less convenient to use. What is more, they can collect their tax receipt from the comfort of home via the DOKLAD ONLINE web portal. This service is very popular with our business partners, as it saves them not only the monthly cost of printing tax receipts but also the environment. And that certainly goes hand in hand with e-mobility.
The benefits of card payment are also appreciated by our business partner Siemens: “Our joint solution, simple and widely applicable, will offer users of charging stations in the E.ON Drive network a convenient way to pay for charging their electric vehicle,” says Martin Šilar, Head of E-mobility at Siemens Czech Republic. “For the broad adoption of e-mobility, the availability and convenience of charging, including payment options, are absolutely crucial. Fast, reliable charging and easy card payment can be regarded as a trend that will continue to spread and develop,” Šilar concludes.
And we are moving on – across borders too
This project is far from the end of our cooperation with Siemens, however. Last year we went on to deliver four more E.ON Drive charging stations together, in Kladno, Přerov, Valašské Meziříčí and Uherský Brod. We are now jointly entering the Slovak market as well with charging stations offering contactless payment.
The integrations of our payment terminals with other charger operators are, of course, interesting too. The beautifully designed Olife Energy charging stations certainly deserve a mention; there, too, you can pay for your electricity conveniently by card. You will find them, for example, in Doksy in front of the Hotel Port by Lake Mácha.
Yes, many more interesting payment technology integrations lie ahead of us. So let me close this article with the words of my colleague David Kříčka, who oversees our e-mobility integrations as Direct Sales Representative: “Payment technology in e-mobility is a very interesting, if time-consuming, field of integration. But we know that the future lies in sustainable mobility, and we are glad that we too can contribute to its development. At our company, we see this as our long-term commitment”.
If you share this view and are looking for a business partner to integrate unattended payment terminals into charging stations, contact us. More interesting projects and details about these payment technologies of ours can be found in the Charging stations section.
