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Blog30 September 2026JOLT Redaktion

How Municipalities Identify Suitable Charging Station Locations

The rapid growth of electromobility presents towns and cities with a central task: they need to find suitable charging station locations before demand outstrips the existing infrastructure. Where a rapid charging station is built largely determines whether it is well used, operates economically and is embraced by local residents. Municipalities have a key role to play here, because they hold public land, on-street space and the knowledge of local mobility patterns.

Ein silbernes E-Auto fährt auf einer kurvigen Straße entlang einer Küstenlandschaft.

This article shows how municipalities can proceed systematically: from the data foundation through site analysis and the decisive criteria to practical implementation.

Municipal charging planning begins with the right site

Forward-looking municipal charging planning combines two perspectives. The first is actual demand: how many charging points does the municipality need today and in the years ahead? The second is the availability of suitable sites. Both questions can now be answered with data rather than left to chance.

The Nationale Leitstelle Ladeinfrastruktur of german, the national charging infrastructure control centre based at NOW GmbH and working on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport, provides municipalities with free tools for this. The StandortTOOL shows the current stock and the forecast demand for publicly accessible charging infrastructure, broken down by use cases such as on-street charging, charging in customer car parks and at urban rapid-charging hubs. The demand calculations are based on the EU's AFIR regulation and can be compared across several municipalities. This lets you recognise early on whether the installed charging capacity still covers future demand, and it creates the data foundation for the site analysis that follows.

Site analysis as the foundation of every decision

Every sound decision begins with a robust site analysis. It answers the question of where charging makes sense across the urban area in the first place, drawing on data about traffic flows, commuter movements, parking behaviour and the availability of private charging options. The settlement structure in particular has a strong influence on public charging demand: where many people live without a charging option of their own, the importance of public charging points rises significantly.

For the site side, the Nationale Leitstelle has created tools: a digital platform that brings together the supply of and demand for sites. Municipalities enter suitable properties there and make them visible to operators on a non-discriminatory basis. According to the Leitstelle, several thousand properties were recently listed there; the exact figure keeps changing and should be checked before publication. This systematic site analysis saves time and money later on.

These criteria define suitable charging station locations

Whether a site is suitable comes down to several factors. The following criteria have proven particularly relevant in practice:

  1. Grid connection and available capacity: Does the site have a grid connection, or can one be established economically? Is the grid capacity sufficient for the planned charging power?
  2. Traffic volume: Experience shows that sites on busy routes and with good visibility tend to be better used.
  3. Accessibility and road safety: EV drivers should be able to reach the charging station without obstruction and without disrupting the flow of traffic.
  4. Parking behaviour and parking duration: Short stays point to rapid charging, longer parking periods more to standard charging. The charging power should match the typical usage pattern at the site.
  5. Site size and scalability: Factor in the potential for expansion from the outset so that further charging points can be added as demand grows.
  6. Ownership and permitting: In legal terms, installing charging stations in public road space counts as a special use that requires a permit. Clear responsibilities and a dedicated special use bylaw noticeably speed up the process.

A good site analysis weights these criteria according to local circumstances and makes the choice of charging locations as transparent as possible.

Municipal charging planning in practice: from the grid to the charging point

Many cities translate their municipal charging planning into a grid that covers the whole area. Aachen, for example, has divided its urban area into around 380 grid squares of 400 by 400 metres and plans to build at least two charging points each on sites in the residential and transport land-use categories. Essen works with a finer grid of tiles measuring 200 by 200 metres. Grids like these ensure needs-based, even coverage and make the planning transparent for everyone involved.

In addition, it is advisable to coordinate the concept with neighbouring municipalities and the wider region and to involve the public early on. This increases acceptance and helps prevent conflicts of use in public spaces. Anyone who builds these organisational steps into the planning early makes faster progress during implementation.

How JOLT supports municipalities with charging station locations

One criterion restricts the choice particularly often in practice: the grid connection. JOLT's charging stations have integrated battery storage and can be connected to the existing low-voltage grid, entirely without costly, time-consuming grid upgrades. This turns even those sites into potential charging station locations that would previously have been ruled out for conventional rapid chargers due to a lack of grid capacity.

There is also the matter of space efficiency. With a charging power of up to 320 kW, vehicles at JOLT stations gain around 200 km of range in about 10 minutes, around the clock. The integrated battery storage also acts as an intelligent energy store that can stabilise the local grid. For municipalities, this means maximum charging power in minimal space, while valuable urban areas remain free for parks, cycle paths and public squares.

As a charge point operator, JOLT guides the entire process and takes on site analysis, permitting, financing and operation. The municipality provides the site, and JOLT takes care of everything else.

Conclusion: suitable charging station locations can be planned

Finding suitable charging station locations is not a matter of chance but the result of structured municipal charging planning. Anyone who brings demand and sites together with data, applies clear criteria and uses the right tools alongside a careful site analysis creates a charging network that fits the city and its people.

Would you like to open up suitable charging station locations in your municipality? Find out how JOLT supports towns and cities in expanding ultra-fast charging infrastructure, and get in touch with our team.

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