Netherlands fast charging firm taking Shell to court

Fastned, which has fast charging stations in the Netherlands, is taking Dutch oil giant Shell to court after Shell opened its first fast charging station, Netherlands news agency NOS

reports.

“It starts with Shell simply selling electricity on the permit they have to sell fuel”, Fastned chief executive officer Michiel Langezaal told the broadcaster.

“We find that strange. We as electricity provider can’t just sell gasoline. We’re going to court.”

Fastned is already battling the Dutch government, as it can’t get permission to open shops at its charging stations.

“If you charge your car you might want to get a cup of coffee or go to the toilet”, Langezaal told NOS. “We do not want our customers to be left out in the cold, but we can’t get permission from Rijkswaterstaat (part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment). They say road safety is at risk. So why can gas stations then have shops?”

Another issue is that the Rijkswaterstaat refuses to place signs along highways showing how far away the next charging station is, Langezaal says. “They do that for petrol stations, then you as motorists know that there is a gas station a kilometre away for example. Why then can charging stations for electric cars not be mentioned?”

The court ruled earlier this year in Fastned’s favour in proceedings the company filed against Rijkswaterstaat for stores at the charging stations. Rijkswaterstaat appealed, saying that no new stores can open along the highways until 2024.
Rijkswaterstaat is bound by agreements with the oil companies about auctioning shop locations along the highways.

When it comes to signs, it’s only a matter of time, according to Rijkswaterstaat. As soon as the current signs need to be replaced, the new signs will also have an icon for alternative fuels. Replacing and modifying everything now is too expensive, it says.

At Shell, no one seems overly worried about a lawsuit, according to NOS.
“An additional appointment was granted on Rijkswaterstaat’s existing permit”, the company says, NOS reports. “And that additional appointment confirms that Shell can install fast charging points.

“We are, of course, following the market and electric driving is on the increase”, Shell Netherlands chief executive officer Marjan van Loon told NOS. “And we want to be there for all motorists.”
Shell aims to install fast charging points at 25 of its gas stations.