Enel CEO Francesco Starace and Director of e-Solutions Francesco Venturini presented the programme, which envisages the installation of around 7,000 charging stations by 2020 to reach a total of 14,000 by 2022
Enel will invest between 100 and 300 million euros on the development of a widespread charging infrastructure network
The new "quick" urban charging station, designed by Marco Susani and Dafne Koz was also presented
Vallelunga will host Enel’s first technological centre for research on electric mobility in Italy
Rome, November 9th, 2017 – Enel's CEO Francesco Starace and the Director of the Global e-Solutions Division Francesco Venturini presented today the company’s National Plan for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which will envisage the installation of around 7,000 charging stations by 2020 to reach a total of 14,000 stations by 2022. The programme envisages the widespread coverage of all Italian regions and will contribute to the increase of the number of electric and hybrid vehicles in circulation. The Plan was presented during an event held at the Vallelunga racetrack, near Rome, which will host Enel’s first technological centre for the research on electric mobility in Italy.
Enel will invest between 100 and 300 million euros to develop a widespread charging infrastructure network including Quick (22 kW) charging stations in urban areas and Fast (50 kW) and Ultra Fast (150 kW) charging stations in extra-urban areas. Approximately 80% of the charging points will be installed in urban areas, of which 21% in major metropolitan areas, 57% in other cities and the remaining 20% in other areas around the country to enable medium and long-range travel in extra-urban areas and on motorways. The latter category includes the charging points of the EVA+ (Electric Vehicles Arteries) project, co-financed by the European Commission, which provides for the installation of 180 charging points along Italian roads in extra-urban areas over three years. In 2018, more than 2,500 charging stations will be installed throughout the country.
“The installation of this advanced charging infrastructure throughout Italy represents an important technological step forward for the country,” said Enel CEO and General Manager, Francesco Starace. “We are strongly committed to give Italy a decisive contribution to the development of a sustainable mobility system which will bring great benefits to the environment, the economy, businesses and the citizens. The energy world is undergoing a phase of far-reaching change affecting all its aspects and is opening up enormous opportunities through the development of new technologies such as those related to e-mobility, which are changing people's habits, while improving their daily lives inside and outside urban areas”.
“Electric mobility is now a reality. With the Infrastructure Plan, we want to eliminate “range anxiety”, or the fear of running out of power, for those who drive an electric vehicle,” said Director of Enel's Global e-Solutions Division, Francesco Venturini. “For this reason we will develop a widespread network that will help increase the number of electric cars in circulation in Italy, involving everyone in the public and private sectors who, like us, believe in our country and in our ability to innovate. It is a very ambitious plan developed and supported in full by Enel.”
The design of the new “quick” urban charging station designed by Marco Susani and Defne Koz was unveiled during the event. The new design increases interaction opportunities with customers and can be managed more easily and quickly. The charging point makes it possible to deliver new services for customers by integrating technology features such as wireless, Bluetooth, WiFi and NFC (Near-Field Communication).
The infrastructure developed by Enel, which currently boasts about 900 charging stations throughout Italy, has been designed to meet the various charging needs of customers. These features are possible thanks to the Electro Mobility Management System (EMM) cloud platform, which allows for the remote monitoring and management of the entire network. The integration between Enel's charging stations and the EMM platform also enables smart charging services, which allow customers to manage their charging activities more effectively. Thanks to the recent acquisition of the California-based eMotorWerks announced at the end of October, Enel will be able to offer solutions related to Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology that can generate economic benefits for customers who make their vehicle’s batteries available to help stabilise the grid.
The National Plan will be developed in collaboration with the municipalities and regions involved, where Enel will invest directly in the charging infrastructure, and together with private-sector players that want to participate in the project, with a contribution from Enel of up to 65% of the investment. More specifically, this segment refers to the installation of charging points on private property accessible to the public owned by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), independent professionals and the self-employed (SOHOs) as well as commercial establishments and large retailers, such as gyms, supermarkets, shopping malls, holiday farms and hotels.
Moreover, Vallelunga will host Enel’s first technology centre for R&D on e-mobility solutions in Italy that will aggregate research and start-up institutes operating in the sector.
As of today, more than 20 charging infrastructures using Enel technology have been installed and are operational, which will enable:
- the development and testing of charging infrastructures in a real environment, involving the various automotive companies active at the racetrack;
- the creation of a motor sport specialised centre for the development and testing of new solutions for electric vehicles and charging stations;
- Testing of sustainable mobility services such as payment and access control systems for charging infrastructure, e-car sharing;
- Leveraging on ACI Vallelunga's competencies on road safety for safe driving courses specific for electric vehicle drivers.