Why invest in charging infrastructure for your company?

From 2026, the only company cars that will be tax deductible are fully electric cars. So if you want to keep enjoying today's favourable tax regime, you need to commit to a sustainable fleet. With charge points on your company premises, you encourage your employees to drive electric, you offer your customers a great service and you project an environmentally friendly company image.

In addition, any investments in charge points are 200 per cent tax deductible until the end of 2022, as long as you fulfil certain criteria, such as also making the infrastructure available to visitors. So it's a win-win-win situation:

• You pay less in tax.
• You save on charging costs: for employees who charge their vehicle at work, you pay up to five times less than at public charge points.
• You automatically earn back your investment: you determine the charging rate for external users yourself and can therefore include a margin.

New legislation making charge points mandatory

These cost savings are all very welcome, but since March 2021 you also have a number of obligations[ID1] when it comes to charging infrastructure. When renovating your building, or constructing a new building, and you have more than ten parking spaces, you must have at least two charge points available. And for at least one in four of your parking spaces, you must place pipes or cable ducts so you can install additional charge points at a later date.

From 2025, another rule will be in force: all existing commercial premises with more than twenty parking spaces must have at least two charge points.

How do you recognise high-quality charge points?

There's no getting away from it: you need charge points for your company. But of course, you want to be sure that your investment pays off. That's why it's important to choose high-quality charging infrastructure that is future-proof. Consider these five aspects before you make a decision.

1. No SIM lock

Charge points work with software managed by a Charge Point Operator (CPO). This operator calculates the electricity costs, reimburses your employees and provides assistance if repairs are required.

To avoid being stuck with the same operator – particularly if you aren't happy with them – it's best to choose charging infrastructure with no SIM lock. This means that you can change operator at any time, without having to pay anything or buy new charge points – saving you a lot of time, money and headaches.

Want to find out more about Charge Point Operators and the difference between us and other e-mobility suppliers? Read our blog ‘How do you choose the right e-mobility suppliers for your company?’.

2. Protocol OCPP 1.6 / 2.0.1

The Open Charge Point Protocol (OCCP) also guarantees flexibility in your choice of charging network. If your charge point has no SIM lock and also supports this protocol – a communication system between the charge points and management system – it can communicate with all types of management software, regardless of the operator.

In other words, you'll have no problem connecting your charge points to another operator's software if needed.

3. 4G communication

Check that the charge points you want to buy support 4G communication. If so, they can communicate directly with a management platform, which will make the administration process much smoother.

If your charging infrastructure does not support 4G communication, you will need to connect the charge points with the management platform through your company's network, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. This doesn't always work well, and can result in connection issues and outages.

4. Smart connectivity and energy management

Charge points that are compatible with smart software are future-proof. If in the future you want to expand your charging capacity with the latest charge points, or with whichever charge point brand is the cheapest at that time, you don't need to replace your old charge points! Using smart software, your old charge points can communicate with your new ones, even if they are from another brand.

Do you want to make your energy consumption as efficient as possible? And use green electricity too? With smart energy management software, you can adjust the charging capacity of your charge points to the consumption in your building, and easily connect these charge points to solar panels, wind turbines and external batteries.

5. Highest quality: premium European brands

To make absolutely sure that you're picking a top brand, opt for the most suitable charge points for your company from premium European brands such as Alfen, Schneider, Legrand, Mennekes, Efacec and Webasto. This will ensure:

• User-friendliness
• Automatic software updates
• Support in case of technical problems
• Compliance with AREI regulations
• Built-in calibrated MID meters
• Spare parts and upgrades in the future.