More and more cars are electric. That’s good because exhaust gases are harmful to our health. Therefore, more places are needed to quickly charge your car. At the same time, gas stations sell less petrol and diesel every year. Amsterdam has investigated which gas stations in the city can become fast charging stations. Around 2030, entrepreneurs can start converting the first 10 gas stations.
The plans are in the Gas Station Transition Strategy. We made the strategy with input from the owners and operators of Amsterdam’s gas and charging stations.
Research per gas station
Whether a gas station can become a fast charging station in the coming years mainly depends on:
- Location: especially places near highways are suitable because many cars come there.
- Distribution: enough charging spots in all parts of the city.
- Type of contract: in leasehold areas or on land not owned by the municipality, the parties already operating there decide if and when they place fast chargers.
10 locations
All 61 Amsterdam gas stations were investigated. They fall into 3 groups: very, moderately, or less suitable to be converted into fast charging stations. We start with 10 locations. Through a public procedure, entrepreneurs can register around 2030 to develop these locations. They are:
- Esso Meer en Vaart, Meer en Vaart 201, Nieuw-West
- Tango Sierenborch, Sierenborch 14, Nieuw-West
- Shell Westpoort, Galwin 6, Nieuw-West
- BP Cornelis Douwesweg, Cornelis Douwesweg 15, Noord
- BP Gooiseweg, Gooiseweg 10, Oost
- Shell Gooiseweg, Gooiseweg 11, Oost
- Circle K (Total) Marwijk Kooy, Verlengde Van Marwijk Kooystraat 40, Ouder-Amstel
- Shell Europaboulevard, Europaboulevard 24, Zuid
- Circle K (Total) Ganzenhoef, Gooiseweg 51, Zuidoost
- Circle K (Total) Flierbos, Gooiseweg 50, Zuidoost
Full or hybrid charging
Gas stations will still be needed in the city in the coming years. Not every gas station will immediately become fully electric. Some locations will get full fast charging stations and some will be hybrid. There you can charge and still refuel for now.
Challenges
There is not yet enough power everywhere to immediately switch fully to charging. Multiple fast chargers in one place require a heavy power connection. The municipality therefore works with grid operators and companies to find smart power solutions per location.
Example: Stadionplein
The gas station at Stadionplein closed last month and will be converted already in 2026. This location is outside the group of 10. Here comes E-lympic: a place with fast chargers for cars, shared bikes, shared cars, and charging points for boats. We use the experiences here to learn what works well when converting other locations.
First 10 locations, then more
Other suitable locations will only be converted into fast charging stations after 2030. We deliberately work in phases. This is partly due to the earlier mentioned uncertainty about the capacity of the power grid and the speed at which electric driving continues to grow. Also, the possible tightening of the emission-free zones and environmental zones is an uncertain factor.
