Proximus wants to equip up to 4,000 Flemish street cabinets with EV charging stations

Proximus wants to install charging stations at thousands of Flemish fiber optic street cabinets in the coming years, so that electric cars can be charged with them. Each charging station could have two charging points. The company has tested the converted cabinets in Mechelen.

In Flanders you can according to Proximus 4000 street cabinets will receive a charging station. There would be room for two charging points at each charging station. In the rest of Belgium, ‘a few thousand’ charging points could still be realized. Proximus has around 28,000 street cabinets in the country.

The street cabinets can get charging stations because the provider is installing a fiber optic network in the country. Optical fiber requires less space in a street cabinet than the copper network. In addition, the street cabinets already have an energy connection, which means that less excavation work is required, according to the company. “They are also often located in attractive locations in the city center, allowing access to be provided to residents who do not have charging infrastructure at home.”

Proximus wants to have all possible street cabinets equipped with charging stations by 2028. The plan follows a pilot project in Mechelen, where seven charging stations have been installed at street cabinets since the end of last year. This year, the company wants to install 25 extra charging stations in Belgium.

The internet and TV provider also wants to install charging stations in semi-public and business areas, such as in parking lots at companies, hospitals and sports clubs. The Belgian government wants to have 100,000 (semi) public charging stations by 2030. The country now has about 14,000 charging points, according to the car manufacturers’ association ACEA. The number of charging stations is a lot lower because charging stations usually contain more charging points.