Global investment in electric vehicle charging is not enough to meet demand, according to estimates from Siemens Financial Services (SFS).
In new research released by the firm, it’s estimated that the size of the global investment gap for EV charging infrastructure currently sits at around $45.25 billion from 2021-2023. However, without a significant increase in investment, that gap is set to widen to $104.11 billion between the years of 2024 and 2026.
The funding gap represents the difference between EV charging infrastructure already being financed, and that still being paid for out of CAPEX (capital expenditure). It’s an urgent challenge that will need to be addressed if the transition to electric vehicles is going to be successful.
The research splits the investment challenge into two segments, first the years 2021-23, then 2024-6, in order to illustrate the growth driven by early adopters versus later mainstream adoption. The stark increase between the two periods emphasises that the very considerable investment challenge is growing at an exponential rate.
The research finds that supporting the trend to EV adoption will require a significant investment to create charging infrastructures throughout the globe.
Smart finance (from specialist private financiers) is being deployed to align investment costs with the expected benefits of charger installations in order to maximise budgets. According to SFS, take-up of such financing options will influence the rate of deployment for the EV charging infrastructure and will play a determining role in the development of the EV market as a whole.
“Supporting the expected incredible growth of the EV market requires widespread charging infrastructure,” says Mark McLoughlin, Siemens Industries and Markets, Siemens Financial Services, UK.
“Such an investment should be as efficient and sustainable as the technology it supports, which is why smart finance solutions that are outcome based are most suitable to take on this challenge.”