The German electricity networks can be made ready for an e-vehicle fleet running into the millions at a comparatively low cost. This is the conclusion of a study by the think tanks Agora Verkehrswende, Agora Energiewende and The Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP). The prerequisite, however, is that load peaks are attenuated during charging to avoid the costly requirement of increasing the size of cables and transformers. The operators of the distribution networks would have to submit forecasts of the predicted load on their networks to the electricity suppliers, who could then control the charging stations for electric vehicles in such a way that overloading of the mains does not come about.

With intelligent control, it will cost EUR 1.5 billion a year up to 2050 to strengthen cables and transformers so that they can carry the electricity for 30 million electric vehicles by then. With 45 million electric vehicles by 2050, the annual development costs for the networks would run to EUR 2.1 billion. In other words, no more would have to be invested in electricity distribution networks than is currently the case.