Business models for charging infrastructure: opportunities, challenges & future prospects

Electromobility as an economic factor

Electromobility has long been more than just a trend – it is a central pillar of the energy transition and offers enormous economic potential. With the continuous increase in electric vehicles, the demand for charging points is growing in all areas of life – from companies and commercial properties to public parking lots.

Companies, municipalities and investors are faced with the question:
How can charging infrastructure not only be set up, but also operated economically?
The answer lies in well thought-out business models that intelligently combine technology, energy efficiency and new sources of income.

Why charging infrastructure is an attractive business model

The development of charging infrastructure is specifically supported by government subsidies, legal requirements (e.g. GEIG and AFIR) and tax incentives.
At the same time, the number of users is continuously increasing – which opens up new opportunities for operators to monetize.

Decisive factors for economic success are:

• Choice of location: High vehicle frequency and parking duration increase profitability.

• Flexible pricing models: kWh-based billing, flat rates or user group-specific tariffs.

• Technological efficiency: Intelligent energy management to reduce operating costs.

• Additional revenue: e.g. via the GHG quota, advertising space or additional services.

Current business models at a glance

1. charging as a service (CaaS)

More and more companies and local authorities want to offer charging infrastructure without having to invest in operation and maintenance themselves. With the CaaS model, service providers such as reev take over the complete operation, management and billing – often in return for a lease or revenue share.

Advantages:

• – Minimal investment risk

• – Professional operation & maintenance

• – Scalability via software

2. in-house operation with software billing

Fleet operators, parking garages and hotels often opt for in-house operation in order to flexibly manage charging points themselves. With the reev software operators retain full control over user groups, tariffs, energy management and billing – completely digitally.

Advantages:

• – Direct sales generation

• – Full price sovereignty

• – Combination with energy management (e.g. reev Energy Management)

3. charging infrastructure with additional services

At highly frequented locations – such as supermarkets, parking garages or shopping centers – additional services such as advertising, catering or lounge areas create new sources of income. One example: digital advertising space at charging stations refinances installation costs and increases brand value.

4th employer model – charging at the workplace

More and more companies are opting for charging infrastructure for employees. They can charge either free of charge or at reduced rates – with tax benefits until 2030. Integrated energy management solutions can be used to avoid peak loads and optimize energy consumption.

New sources of revenue through GHG quota

One particularly lucrative additional benefit is the GHG quota (greenhouse gas reduction quota). With reev, operators and companies can automatically generate revenue from their charging processes – simply via the dashboard:

• – For fleets and electric company cars: around €50-80 per year and BEV (as of 2025)

• – For public charging points: approx. 3-4 cents per kWh

All transactions are carried out digitally and transparently via the reev platform, so that additional sales are possible without administrative effort.

Technological developments and future prospects

The market is developing rapidly – and with it the technological possibilities.

• – Bidirectional charging (vehicle-to-grid / vehicle-to-building):
  Electric vehicles are increasingly being used as mobile energy storage units that can feed electricity back into the grid. Initial pilot projects by manufacturers such as VW and BMW show this: This technology can help to stabilize grid loads in the future.

• – High-performance and LFP batteries:
  New cell architectures enable longer service life and lower costs, making the use of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure more economical.

• – PV integration & smart charging: In combination with energy management systems such as reev energy management, PV systems can be optimally integrated in order to use self-generated electricity specifically for charging processes.

Conclusion: future market for charging infrastructure

Charging infrastructure has long been more than just a necessary component of electromobility – it is a scalable business model in its own right.
Companies that focus on intelligent software solutions, energy management and flexible billing systems at an early stage secure decisive competitive advantages.

With reev, operators benefit from efficient administration, automated billing and intelligent energy management – and open up new sources of income.