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In an effort to encourage flexible charging behaviour and promote the benefits of its Recharge app, Shell Recharge has temporarily lowered prices at all its Recharge Ultra Fast Charging stations in Germany. From August 1, 2022, 10:00 am to August 3, 2022, 11:59 pm, electric vehicle drivers will pay just 0.39 €/kWh, a significant reduction from the usual 59 cents.

This move comes at a time when electric vehicles (EVs) of all sizes and purposes, with large ranges and increasingly affordable prices, are becoming more accessible. Major automotive groups such as Volkswagen, Stellantis, and Hyundai/Kia have boosted demand with numerous new electric vehicle models.

However, the cost of charging these EVs can vary greatly. Without specific charging cards, electricity prices can increase to up to 89 cents/kWh for ad-hoc charging at EnBW stations. Occupancy fees, charged by many network operators or municipal providers to prevent EVs from occupying charging stations all night without charging, remain a constant annoyance. These fees can range from 2 to 10 cents per minute, which can add up.

EnBW, one of the major charging network operators in Germany, currently offers energy at 59 cents per kilowatt-hour in its Load Tariff S. Ionity, another fast-charging provider, charges a minimum of 70 cents for a kilowatt-hour at its stations without a monthly basic fee. Some charging providers have capped these fees at 12, 20, or 24 euros.

In Berlin, fees have been waived between 10 PM and 6 AM for customers of the municipal utility since early July. However, EnBW, EWE Go, and many municipal charging stations charge occupancy fees after just four hours of charging.

Shell Recharge recently attempted a similar initiative, dubbed "e-Deal," involving dynamic charging rates at over 1600 fast-charging points nationwide. The special price of 44 cents per kWh applies only to charging processes started with the Shell Recharge charging card or smartphone app. Without the app, the cost at the e-Deal charging points is 79 cents per kWh, plus a 0.35 euro transaction fee per charging session.

The strongest companies active in Germany's public charging infrastructure are EnBW, Shell Recharge (with its subsidiary ubitricity), and enercity. EnBW operates the largest fast-charging network with over 5,000 charging points nationwide and plans to expand to 30,000 fast charging points by 2030. Shell Recharge and ubitricity together provide about 2,700 charging points, notably in Hamburg.

Enercity has launched a pilot project with dynamic prices ranging between 37 and 67 cents per kWh for public fast charging in Hannover, offering transparent, contract-free pricing. Detailed prices from EnBW and Shell Recharge are not specified, but enercity's price range offers a transparent example of typical charging costs per kilowatt-hour in Germany.

Ludwig Hohenlohe, CEO of Charging Radar, comments that major charging providers are entrenching themselves, and roaming is reaching its limits. This temporary price drop by Shell Recharge could be a sign of competition heating up in the German charging market.