Infrastructure Italy and make our country ready for the electric mobility was a mantra carried forward by Enel and its specialized business units in an ever more thorough way: first Enel X and now Enel X Way they worked throughout the territory to seize the opportunities and strengthen the charging network for EV and PHEVs. A strategy that first concerned capillarity and then speed, to the point of focusing on an increasingly complete infrastructure. It was to take stock of electric mobility in Italy Federico Caleno, Head of Country Italy of Enel X Way who described the state of the art and the prospects, between PNRR and the construction of motorway recharging points, without forgetting the stop to sales of diesel and petrol in 2035 and the incentives. Here is Caleno’s analysis in the exclusive interview given at the Milano Monza Motor Show.
You are back to MIMO for the second year with a growing commitment. What has changed since 2021?
“We could not miss an important year for us with the birth of Enel X Way, the new Enel company entirely dedicated to electric mobility. We renew our commitment to the development of charging solutions for electric road vehicles, including e-buses and heavy vehicles, but we are also studying technologies for the nautical sector and in the near future also for vertical take-off aircraft. From the point of view of the event, the fact that the MIMO is organized in Milan has greater weight given that here and more generally in Lombardy, the electricity market is developing faster, which is why we are investing a lot in infrastructure. “
At what point is the work on the network? What opportunities will you seize from the PNRR?
“Enel has created this spin-off of Enel X to fully cover the entire electric mobility market. In Italy we are continuing with the national infrastructure plan, with the installation of approximately 1,500 charging stations each year, equivalent to 3,000 points where you can fill up with energy. We have a market share of around 55% of the network given that out of a total of approximately 28 thousand recharging points, more than 15,500 are ours. Therefore we continue in this work with a particular focus on the areas in which electric mobility is developing most massively. This does not mean only Northern Italy, there are regions in which we are committed and where there are important actions to support the development of e-mobility such as Sicily, Sardinia, but also Puglia. Regarding the PNRR, we have implemented the consultation document published. There are some improvement proposals that we presented at MITE, precisely to make the development of the charging network more democratic. At the moment there is a focus on the installation of stations at fuel distributors which is important, but it must not be exclusive because the customer can occupy his time also doing other things, perhaps taking advantage of the parking of a restaurant or a hotel or of a shopping center. We are ready to seize the opportunities that the PNRR will put in place, but at the same time we continue our journey, both on the network of chargers below 100 kW and in the higher one where in just under a year we have made about seventy sites operational, becoming thus the first High Power Charger operator in Italy. “
Ainfrastructure that also involves collaboration with the institutions. Is this the case in Naples?
“This agreement is very important because Naples has so far represented a gap in the development of the charging infrastructure. Thanks to the award of this tender, we will essentially create the first charging network for electric cars in the city. To date, Naples has only recharging infrastructures on private land. The solution that we have proposed in response to the call published by the Municipality of Naples aims to provide the city with all types of charging infrastructures that we have in our portfolio, thus meeting the needs of customers in the different areas where they can park their electric car and do more while charging. I consider it a first step of dialogue with the municipality, the goal will be to create a network throughout the territory that is useful for evolving mobility in Naples. It can be a turning point to demonstrate that electric mobility helps the growth of the urban ecosystem “.
Meanwhile, something is also moving from the point of view of the motorway recharging network.
“Let’s say that the important steps are taken, but very slowly. We are all waiting for the guidelines of the Transport Regulation Authority which should define the rules that the concessionaires will use in order to publish tenders to select operators, the so-called CPOs, to infrastructure the service areas. It is the missing but decisive piece. Free to X is doing a good job, although it is doing it on its own while it would be more beneficial for the growth of the entire industry if everyone could contribute to this process. The important thing is that these guidelines arrive, which were supposed to arrive between May and June and which will instead be postponed to October, inevitably leading to further delays in the infrastructure of an important asset for the country. “
Isn’t the limit imposed by the EU Parliament on petrol and diesel car sales by 2035 a stretch?
“I see it as a clear goal to be achieved. The European Parliament has given a period of 13 years to organize. This is essential to convert the production processes of companies, train customers, to prepare a new market segment that will be the one of the future. I see it as a help because always remaining in an ambiguous preconception does not help transformations. Non-decisions have never led to anything. Having a clear strategy and having enough time to implement it are important things. “
The incentives have finally arrived giving a boost to the market. Yet so structured perhaps they are not a benefit.
“It is a speech similar to that relating to those who criticize the deadline of 2035. We have managed to give incentives so as not to give them to the electric car. It was a great exercise in style. Excluding rental companies from the eco-bonus was a questionable decision. Nowadays, the most accessible way to own an electric vehicle is to rent so giving a relief without including these customers is like not giving it. The same thing can be said of the purchase threshold set at 35 thousand euros: today the incentives are given to fill the cost gaps that are at the basis of the granting of the eco-bonus. Not admitting them is like saying ‘we offer incentives but not for the real reason why they are needed’. We hope that in any case there is some oxygen for this market but without a doubt it could have been done better. “
At what point will Enel X Way be in 2035?
“We will be an operator who, if he has worked well, will be recognized by customers as reliable and who will therefore have helped to remove any anxiety in the purchase of an electric vehicle. A company that will have contributed to accelerating the energy transition because perhaps it will have managed to integrate some services that have been deemed useful for users, both to be able to make the electric vehicle pay less, and to switch to renewables. Above all, we will be a global operator, with greater diffusion in Europe and America. “
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