Fast charging in the Netherlands
EV drivers increasingly expect greater reliability and faster charging. As fast charging is one of the solutions that best meet those needs, we began last year to examine the evolution of the fast-charging landscape. This led to a first analysis of fast charging in Europe. We then looked at things on a national level. After Luxembourg, Belgium, France, we’ve decided to turn to the Netherlands.
At Gireve, we are at the heart of the EV charging industry, empowering CPOs and eMSPs with our seamless roaming platform. Combining marketplace technologies, transaction processing, and data management, our mission is to support stakeholders and accelerate their transition to electric mobility on a global scale. But we don’t stop there: we process and enrich data on charging stations and driver behaviors. We offer insightful analysis and strategic consulting. We believe that this wealth of information will shape the future of mobility, making it sustainable, innovative, and accessible to all.
So, we’re sharing a series of insights learned from our data, to foster discussions and learn together.
We are happy to present our monthly publication related to our Data and Consulting department: Beyond EV Charging
Executive Summary
The fast-charging segment is growing rapidly in the Netherlands. This growth is supported by one of the densest public charging networks in Europe.
There are now over 4,400 fast chargers (≥100 kW) across the country. Limited access to home charging makes public infrastructure crucial.
In particular, multi-operator hubs are becoming increasingly important. These hubs, especially on highways, now host more than 1,000 fast chargers. They are used more frequently thanks to strategic placement and charger availability. Given that, the Netherlands’ model—dense networks, operator diversity, and smart siting—could inspire future infrastructure planning. As grid constraints increase, this approach offers valuable lessons.
According to gridX’s latest EV Charging Report 2025, the Netherlands leads the European landscape in charge point density. The country accounts for 178,000 charging points and has the highest ratio of charger per inhabitant and per 100 km on highway.
Currently, BEV sales account for 34% and the BEV fleet accounts for 5%. This is still below the best performing countries, such as Norway. However, the high density of charging stations is needed in a country where a lot of EV drivers do not have the possibility of charging at home. Moreover, speed is one of the first concerns of EV drivers regarding public charging, even though the advertised power is not always the power delivered in the end (see paper 15). Therefore, this edition focuses on fast charging in the country and how it has developed in recent years.
Overview of the stakeholders
When it comes to fast charging, the country accounts for 4,463 charging points with a power output greater or equal of 100 kW as of May 2025. The fast-charging landscape remains quite fragmented with hundreds of different players. However, the top 8 players gather 78% of all fast chargers installed in the country, and the top 2 players gather 44%. Fastned is the top leader in its home country, whether in terms of power installed, number of locations or total charging points installed.
Tesla, as always, appears among the top players. The operator’s infrastructure is installed on fewer locations compared to other players. However, Telsa has a higher number of chargers per location, with over 17 chargers per location compared to an average of 4,1 for the others. In terms of deployment evolution, larger networks tend to grow more slowly. They show a 10% annual increase in charging points compared to the previous year. In contrast, smaller networks—such as Shell, bp pulse, Leap24, Ionity, and Tango Electric—are experiencing significantly higher year-on-year growth rates, ranging from 30% to 50%. To finish, the ”others” category include many locations operated by companies or landowners using aggregating CPMS solutions.
In addition, oil companies and fuel station operators are also significant: BP, Shell, Tango, Tamoil, Avia, TotalEnergies. The latter was bought by Circle K and is excluded from the present analysis. Oil & Gas company growth is a trend that we noticed at European level (see paper 5 on oil & gas companies)
Mapping of fast charging hubs
For this analysis, we focused on charging hubs in the country. A hub is defined as an EV charging location with more than 1 CPO. Most hubs are either on service areas or along motorways, sometimes alongside a Tesla supercharger location.
We notice a strong growth of hubs in the Netherlands over the past 2 years. From 800 charging points installed in hubs at the end of 2023, the number rose to reach 1010 at the end of 2024. They are installed mostly on service areas on highway and not surprisingly, EV drivers can find a Fastned location on most of them. On service areas, it seems that there is a repeating scheme. Indeed, in most cases, a CPO has a large site hosting 6+ charging points. Another CPO—most of the time the petrol station owner—has 2 charging points near its convenience store. There are at least 4 locations with 3 CPOs.
Use rate
When it comes to use rate, we analysed the difference in terms of usage of fast charging on hub locations, where several players offer charging stations, compared to other locations. As visible on the graph below, charging points in hubs are more used in general than non-hubs.
This difference in usage can be attributed to several factors. Charge Point Operators (CPOs) strategically deploy charging hubs in high-demand, high-traffic areas. Additionally, the presence of multiple operators lowers the risk of charger unavailability. Consequently, the confidence in finding a functioning and available charger likely encourages greater usage by drivers.
Conclusion
In Europe, many service areas have only recently been equipped with charging stations. However, since installations typically result from tender processes, these sites are often operated by a single provider. Allowing multiple operators at highway service areas can enhance the EV driver experience. This reduces the risk of charger outage and offers greater choice to consumers. However, diversifying the offer could also deter some CPOs. It might lead to a slower return of investment for the CPO in the short term.
In the Netherlands, hubs may be more interesting along highways where there is more space to install large hubs. In the upcoming years, the main issue in the country will be handling grid capacity. While grid capacity is a bottleneck, the evolution of the fast-charging segment in the Netherlands will be shaped by a mix of technology, infrastructure investment, and policy innovation—with a strong focus on flexibility and smart integration.
