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The lack of available charging infrastructure is currently one of the main obstacles to the deployment of electric vehicles. To overcome this obstacle, the energy transition law adopted in August 2015 sets a particularly ambitious goal. It provides for the installation of at least 7 million charging points by 2030. To achieve this, companies with car parks for their employees will be expected to contribute.
What is the current situation regarding electric vehicles?
According to data released by the National Association for the Development of Electric Mobility (AVERE), nearly 100,000 electric vehicles have been registered in France since 2010. This figure includes passenger and utility vehicles, as well as plug-in hybrid vehicles.
For these 100,000 vehicles circulating nationwide, approximately 122,000 charging points were available as of the end of December 2016.
Charging stations in professional settings already represent the majority of the existing infrastructure. The energy transition law further strengthened, as of1st January 2017, the obligations for companies to equip their car parks with charging infrastructure during renovation or construction work.
What were the obligations for companies before 2017?
Until the end of 2016, only companies operating enclosed and covered car parks serving commercial buildings were subject to the obligation to equip a portion of their parking spaces with infrastructure for charging electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles.
For car parks serving new buildings for which a building permit application was filed between1st January 2012 and December 31, 2016, 10% of spaces had to be electrically connected to allow for the later installation of a charging point for electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. This pre-cabling obligation involved installing conduits or cable trays from the main low-voltage switchboard (TGBT). Its purpose was to facilitate the subsequent installation of a charging station, but not to mandate its immediate installation.
Owners of existing car parks serving primarily office buildings constructed before 2012 were required, by January 1, 2015, to equip at least 10% of parking spaces with charging points in urban areas with over 50,000 inhabitants, and 5% in other cases. This obligation applied only to enclosed and covered car parks with a capacity of more than 20 spaces in urban areas with over 50,000 inhabitants, and 40 spaces in other cases.
What obligations apply from 2017?
Since early 2017, the obligation to provide charging infrastructure has been extended to open-air car parks. This applies regardless of the use of the buildings served, whether commercial or industrial.
In the event of the creation or extension of car parks serving new buildings for which a building permit application was submitted as of 1st January 2017, 10 to 20% of parking spaces intended for cars and motorized two-wheelers must be pre-wired electrically to accommodate a charging point. The percentage of spaces to be connected depends on the total capacity of the new car park or extension: 10% for up to 40 parking spaces, 20% beyond that.
The minimum unit nominal power that the charging infrastructure must be able to deliver is set at 22 kW. This power can be adjusted between 7.4 and 22 kW if some charging points can be supplied from local renewable energy production or storage facilities. This particularly applies to photovoltaic charging stations.
Furthermore, in the event of work on an existing car park (without the construction of new buildings), the client is now required to equip a portion of the parking spaces with charging infrastructure. A decree still needs to specify the conditions for applying this measure to existing car parks, particularly based on the nature and size of the buildings and the car park concerned, the type of work undertaken, and the ratio between the cost of this work and the value of the buildings. This decree should also set the minimum number of parking spaces to be equipped and the conditions for exemption in case of technical impossibility or constraints related to the building's natural environment.
What technical requirements must be met?
The technical requirements for installing charging points, including those installed voluntarily at the company's initiative, are now regulated:
- Any charging point installed or replaced since 1st March 2017 that allows electricity transfer to an electric vehicle at a power of 22 kW or less, must have at least a socket outlet or a Type 2 connector. The Type 2 socket is, in fact, currently the European standard for charging at less than 22 kW[1]
- Charging points must be installed by a professional holding an electrical authorization and the IRVE qualification issued by the organization QUALIFELEC certifying their competence to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure
- The electrical installation must comply with safety requirements. Specifically, it must have a dedicated circuit for each charging point. A residual current device (RCD) with a maximum rating of 30mA dedicated to this circuit is also necessary.
What assistance is available for installing an electric vehicle charging station in a company's car park?
As part of the energy saving certificate scheme, the ADVENIR program aims to promote the installation of 12,000 charging points by the end of 2018. Coordinated by AVERE, EcoCO2, and EDF, the project's funder, this program allows any company to receive up to 40% aid for the installation of a charging station accessible to electric vehicles in its own fleet or those of its employees, provided that the technical specifications are met and within the limit of €1,360 (excl. VAT) per charging point.
Should the employer cover the electricity costs for their employees' vehicles?
Regulations do not require employers to provide free electricity to employees who connect their personal vehicles to charging stations provided in the company car park.
However, this option is explicitly allowed by the Labour Code[2], according to which the employer may cover the costs incurred by employees for powering their electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, and also allow these vehicles to be charged at the workplace.
Employees eligible for such a benefit in kind are:
- those whose usual residence or workplace is located outside of Ile-de-France and an urban transport zone,
- or those for whom the use of a personal vehicle is essential due to work schedules.
Furthermore, the employer's coverage of electricity costs for employees' electric vehicles cannot be combined with their contribution to public transport subscription costs.
Lastly, an important point: when decided by the employer, this coverage is exempt from URSSAF social security contributions. A limit of €200 per year per employee is set. This can already allow an employee using an electric vehicle to travel up to 10,000 km per year. For information, €2 worth of electricity currently allows for an average travel of 100 km.
In conclusion on implementing electric vehicles in businesses
While there may be doubts that the number of charging points available in 2030 will actually reach 7 million[3], the legal framework currently in place demonstrates, if proof were needed, the public authorities' desire to involve companies in pursuing this objective and to accelerate the development of electric mobility for employees.
[1] Three technical charging power levels exist, generally corresponding to the power available with installations designed for 16, 32, and 63 amperes, namely:
- 16 A single-phase = 3.7 kVA or even 7 kVA, considered "standard normal charging"
- 32 A three-phase = 22 kVA allowing for "accelerated normal charging"
- 63 A three-phase = 43 kVA, enabling 'fast charging' with AC or DC current.
[2] Labor Code, Article L. 3261-3
[3] To reach the goal of 7 million charging points installed by 2030, nearly 500,000 charging stations would need to be installed on average each year. By comparison, in 2016, 41,000 new charging points were installed, which already represented an increase of +50%.