Cars and electric mobility, Enel is ready to take off. The group announces a plan to install 2.500 charging stations in 2018, with a leap to 7.000 charging stations by 2020, with a goal of doubling it two years later, in 2022. To get an idea of the change, it is worth remember that today in Italy there are almost 1000 columns, mostly owned by local administrations. Planned investments: from 100 to 300 million to implement in a capillary way – including the islands, even the smaller ones and not just Sicily and Sardinia – the Enel-branded private charging infrastructure with 3 methods: Quick in urban areas, Fast and Ultra Fast outside from the cities.
Launch in grand style, with an event that attracted institutions, the business world, the automotive industry (Nissan, Renault, Tesla) to Vallelunga, just outside Rome. All "green" of course. While listening to the roar of racing cars with noisy internal combustion engines racing on the circuit at the gates of Rome, Francesco Starace and Francesco Venturini - CEO of the Enel group and director of the global e-Solutions division respectively - are on the field to present the national plan for the charging stations and all the innovations that Enel launches to run on electric mobility. Starting with the research center that opens in Vallelunga for testing the new e-mobility system. But above all they are in the field to sweep away fakes, false myths and communicate the strengths of a project on which Enel has been working for over a year. The emphasis is ensured by the announcement that opens the works: “the e-Mobility revolution has begun”. An "American" presentation with top managers in shirts and a style that is more reminiscent of the presentations of Steeve Jobs or Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg than the more traditional ones used in the Old Continent.
(In the picture: Francesco Starace, CEO of the Enel Group)
THE NEW COLUMNS, STARTING IN 200 CITIES
Enel's plan is calibrated to guarantee the circulation of 115.000 electric vehicles by 2020 and 300.000 in 2022. If the market grows faster, the installation of columns will also increase according to a criterion of flexibility aimed at reassuring car manufacturers: feet” is the message launched by Alberto Piglia, head of electric mobility at Enel. This explains the flexibility of the investments, from 100 to 300 million in fact. Approximately 80% of the recharging points will be installed in city areas (starting with 200 Municipalities), of which 21% in large metropolitan areas and 57% in other cities, and the remaining 20% at national coverage, for ensure medium and long-range travel, in suburban areas and on motorways. The latter include the recharging stations of the EVA+ (Electric Vehicles Arteries) project, co-financed by the European Commission, which envisages the installation, over three years, of 180 recharging points along Italian extra-urban sections.
THE ELECTRIC CAR/CNG CAR RACE
Francesco Starace, who just today, Thursday 9 November, presented the Enel accounts for the first nine months – he had anticipated in February aFIRST interview online that 2018 would be a watershed year for the electric car. Today he explains: "We are one year behind what I would have liked, not everything can be done when you want but it's fantastic to be ready to embark on this new adventure now". And he pushes on the accelerator: “Electricity will continue to drop as renewables increasingly enter the production mix. But renewables are not enough to curb global warming: already today the investment in a new green energy plant is competitive with respect to an existing fossil plant. New against old amortized wins, it is an unstoppable phenomenon and electricity, as an energy carrier, is destined to supplant other fossil sources. Consequently – he continues – we will have the electrification of industrial segments, starting with transport. It is a clear fact, it is reality. Electric mobility is going to happen.”
(In the picture: Francesco Venturini, director of the international e-Solutions division)
Starace never mentions Sergio Marchionne, CEO of FCA, but he is probably thinking of him when he points out that the recently approved EU package provides for a 30% cut on CO2 emissions in transport. “Italy will have to implement it. The automotive industry is an ongoing transformation. Those who have prepared earlier will be able to earn more than the others; whoever figured it out later will survive; whoever didn't understand it is already finished. Change is not to be feared."
“Let's avoid fake news”, insists Francesco Venturini who describes the world that awaits us thus: “We are facing a significant change in consumption and mobility models. The digitized network and the fundamental hub of new generation smart meters will change our experience. We will be able to recharge the car at the gym, at the supermarket or from home, from the office: already today in California and Norway 50% of recharges are from home and 25% from the office. Top-ups can be booked via the App, locating the closest and most convenient one. The intelligent digital network, a cloud-based system, allows us to monitor the entire international network safely and in real time and to manage any congestion". And he debunks one of the fakes in circulation: "It is not true that with the development of the electric car more energy must be produced: with 1 million cars in circulation there would be 0,3% of additional demand, corresponding to 1 Twh per about. But since the electric car is three times more efficient than the internal combustion engine one, in the end you go to save money”.
HOW MUCH IS THE "FULL" OF ELECTRICITY
The cost of a full tank? Calculating a practicability of 10.000 km/year, the expected consumption is 1.500 kilowatt hours or about 300 euros a year if you recharge from home and 600 if you recharge from a public column. It means assuming 40 euros for the Milan-Rome (500 km) at the highest rate. In the future there will be Enel's private charging network and the costs will change but the tariff policy is still being worked out.
(From left to right: Alberto Piglia, Francesco Venturini and Francesco Starace)
