Electra invests 200 million in Italy for 500 ultra-fast charging hubs
“We have an ambitious goal: to invest 200 million euros over the next three years to create 500 fast charging hubs for cars: a total of about 3,000 columns that allow you to fill up with energy in about 30 minutes”. Eugenio Sapora is the new country manager of Electra, a French company specializing in ultra-fast charging for electric vehicles. Because the future is clear: the e-car today represents only 1.5% of the 326 million European car parc, but it will reach 65 million by 2030 and double to 130 million by 2035, the year in which it will be banned sell combustion cars.
The goal of Electra is to create a capillary network of supercharger hubs, stations that guarantee a complete recharge of the vehicle in 15-30 minutes, powered by sustainable energy and distributed in public and private spaces and car parks of supermarkets, large shops, hotel chains, motorway service stations. All while ensuring users 24/7 accessibility and zero queues, thanks to the possibility of booking the charging station in advance through the app. Affaritaliani.it was able to interview the country manager Eugenio Sapora exclusively.
Eugene Sapora
Sapora, a somewhat Marzullian question: how will we get used to using our time? Today it takes two minutes to fill up, with an electric car, if with ultra-fast charging, it takes 30…
It’s true: the concept completely changes, even with the most cutting-edge technology. And this creates questions and reflections. Where will people stop? Is the current supply network suitable? We need to change what we call user behavior. If you install one of our super-chargers in front of a supermarket or a place where you have to have an aperitif, it’s perfect. The use of urban spaces is changing, for this reason, like Electra, we want to position ourselves in areas with heavy traffic and with something nearby to do.
Explain to us better: how does your technology differ from the others?
It’s a question of power: today the 22 kw columns have two recharging points which must “divide” the total. However, if you apply 150 for each hub, you obviously have a way of reducing the times. Except that obviously they have greater dimensions and installation difficulties. Today there are about 35,000 recharging points in Italy, one thousand of which have a power exceeding 150 kW. We want to bring around 3,000 ultra-fast charging points. A real leap forward for the Italian network.
Does faster charging cost more than a traditional one?
The price tends to vary according to the power supplied, so the short answer is that you will pay something more. The longer answer is that in reality a great deal will depend on the cost of energy, because today it is true that it has dropped compared to last summer, but it is still quite high compared to the average for recent years. Here, the real price will be determined more by market conditions than by power.
There is also a feasibility issue: installing these hubs is not exactly a walk in the park…
Definitely not, and in fact dialogue with grid connection operators is very important. A supercharger hub, unlike a low-power column, needs an in-depth study to understand how to get energy. And then you have to deal with the surrounding environment: a cabin is a 15 square meter “cube” 2.5 meters high.
How are you going to install these booths?
First of all, we try to disguise them, to make them pleasant even from an aesthetic point of view, so as to integrate with the street furniture. But we especially look at more peripheral areas than the centre, densely populated, where there is more space and where these buildings are less conspicuous.
Have you already initiated discussions?
Yes, with different cities but for the moment we are keeping the matter a bit confidential. We want to invest 200 million over the next three years to achieve the results we have set ourselves.
For the moment the electric car is a thing for the rich. How much is missing before we get to have a battery-powered utility vehicle?
I am very optimistic: builders are making heavy investments and there is also EU funding. Generally, when you start creating important assembly lines, the costs drop. And then the electric car is less expensive than the combustion one because it does not have the maintenance costs of the petrol engine.
One last question: do electric cars work like cell phones? Can you connect to the network whenever you want and recharge it even for short moments?
Yes, in theory yes. But you have to remember that at the beginning, let’s say between 10 and 50%, the recharge is faster, then it slows down.
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