Starting Wednesday, homeowner associations, private landlords, and small to medium-sized enterprises can apply for funding to install charging stations in and around apartment buildings. The Federal Ministry of Transport announced on Wednesday that grants of up to €1,300 are available for a parking space without its own wallbox, €1,500 for a space with its own wallbox, and €2,000 when a charging point is set up for bidirectional charging.
With bidirectional charging, electric vehicles can serve as energy storage units and feed power back into the grid. A total of €500 million is available for the funding program. The initiative covers both the purchase and installation of private charging infrastructure, including wallboxes and necessary technical components. Grid connections and required construction measures are also eligible for funding.
A prerequisite for receiving funding is that at least 20 percent of the parking spaces in apartment building are pre-wired or at least six parking spaces are electrified. Applications from homeowner associations as well as small and medium-sized enterprises and private owners of rental apartments will be processed immediately, according to the ministry. For housing companies and real estate firms with larger property portfolios, there is a competitive procedure.
"The goal is to improve access to charging options for the residents of the roughly 20 million apartments in apartment buildings. Approximately nine million parking spaces belong to these apartments," the ministry explained. A large portion of these are not yet equipped with charging infrastructure. "Charging at home is popular, convenient, and practical, since the car is often parked there for an extended period anyway," explained Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU).
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