The national control center for charging infrastructure and the Berlin association Sozialheld *innen work together to make new charging infrastructure accessible to people with disabilities right from the start. The keyword here is: barrier-free infrastructure.

After an initial exchange with charger manufacturers and operators (CPOs), according to the state-owned NOW GmbH, the involvement of people with disabilities as experts on their own behalf as well as associations is now starting. From the charging specialist side, the manufacturers Compleo CS, Alpitronic and Siemens as well as the CPOs Ionity, Fastned and EnBW mobility + are also at the table. The declared aim is to define specific requirements for barrier-free e-charging infrastructure, because there are no norms or standards for this in Germany so far.

And this is noticeable: Accessibility has often played a subordinate role in the expansion of the charging infrastructure, so the partners unanimously. The result: partly inaccessible charging stations due to high curbs and displays that are too high, lack of space to get off with wheelchairs and other barriers.

"Participation in society must be possible for everyone and does not end at the charging station," says Sebastian Lahmann, head of the implementation team in the national charging infrastructure control center. "With the 'Barrier-free charging infrastructure' workshop series, we want to develop a common understanding of the requirements of people with disabilities in terms of charging infrastructure and discuss the implementation options."

According to Raul Krauthausen, founder of Sozialhelden eV and activist, e-mobility offers enormous opportunities - especially in connection with autonomous driving: "The mobility of the future will also enable blind people or those who cannot see so well, among other things. driving a vehicle. So that everyone can benefit from it, we need a barrier-free infrastructure. I hope that this collaboration will also send an important signal to other areas, so that accessibility is finally taken into account right from the start and implemented consistently. "

According to its own statements, the association Sozialheld *innen advocates “disability mainstreaming” rather than solutions that offer people with disabilities more participation and accessibility. To this end, the association sets up political campaigns, among other things, but above all shares its knowledge with companies and organizations.