New buildings in EU must be EV ready

Businesses moving to new and renovated offices in coming years will find car parks pre-cabled for electric vehicle charge points, thanks to the European Commission’s revised EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

The revision was announced last week (December 15), with the objective of  helping the EU meet its long term climate and energy goals. Its vision is to achieve a zero-emission and fully decarbonised building stock by 2050.

All new public buildings must be zero-emission from 2027, and all new buildings in the EU must be zero-emission as of 2030.

A statement from the Commission said the revised EPBD introduces: “Requirements for recharging infrastructure in private buildings, at home or at the workplace. It is expected that a large share of recharging will take place in these types of buildings.”

Moreover, these charging points will have to be ‘smart’ to support the charging of electric vehicles when there is an abundance of renewable energy. The Directive also requires countries to remove any barriers to the installation of charging points for the residents of multi-family buildings.

Transport & Environment said the Directive had to go further than the small percentage of buildings that are built or renovated every year. It said EV drivers and fleets sometimes have to wait up to a year to have a charger installed, and called for member states to set a maximum time that drivers need to wait between requesting permission for and then installing a private charge point. 

But the EPBD revision is not solely focused on EVs, and includes a key measure to promote cycling as a means of sustainable mobility. The Directive aims to introduce requirements for safe bicycle parking places in new and renovated buildings and in existing large non-residential buildings. 

The European parliament and member states will now debate the revised Directive before deciding on the final directive that will become law.