In Belgium, the four CPOs Allego, Electra, Fastned and Ionity were tested, in the Netherlands the five CPOs Allego, BP Pulse, Fastned, Ionity and Shell Recharge were tested, and in Luxembourg the CPOs Aral Pulse and Chargy.

For the evaluation of the charging station operators, test drives took place between the end of July and the end of August 2024; there were some retests at the beginning of September. The test drivers in Belgium covered around 550 kilometres and visited 20 charging stations, in the Netherlands around 780 kilometres with 25 charging stations and in Luxembourg 125 kilometres with 7 charging stations. The test drivers completed a comprehensive evaluation form at each charging stop: about the charging station, the actual charging process and test calls to the providers‘ hotlines.

“Congratulations to Electra, Fastned and Aral Pulse for their first places. The significant increase in fast-charging options is another important step in the right direction – especially for drivers who rely on a public charging infrastructure,” says connect author Hannes Rügheimer.

In the CPO evaluation, Electra won in Belgium with 795 points, while Fastned came second with 755 points – both providers were rated ‘good’. Ionity came third with 718 points. In the Netherlands, Fastned came in first place with 783 points and a ‘good’ rating, followed by Ionity in second place with 731 points. Shell Recharge came third with 725 points. In Luxembourg, Aral Pulse came in first place with 719 points and a score of ‘satisfactory’, followed by Chargy in second place with 668 points.

The test methodology

For the evaluation, the test teams made trips through Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Depending on the size of the country, they visited four or five stations per CPO. Registration and billing took place via charging cards and apps on the one hand, and via ad-hoc payment options supported by the CPO on the other. During charging, the teams created extensive logs about the conditions on site, the charging process and any errors that occurred. They also contacted the providers‘ hotlines to test the quality of service. A special evaluation key was developed for the connect charging network test, which was also further developed this year. The weighting of the individual test points was adapted to everyday practice in e-mobility. A more detailed description of the methodology can be found at www.connect.de/ladenetztest.

In parallel to Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, connect charging network tests were also conducted in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France.