“In Spain, we are installing plugs in industrial environments and in collaboration with municipalities,” says Jon MacÃas Santiago, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Edison Next Spain.
Currently, some of their already installed chargers have a power of 150 kilowatts (kW) so that users can charge their car in less than 20 minutes.
According to the company’s study, the trend of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in Spain “will go in two directions.”
On the one hand, the transition from home to public charging.
In this sense, the specialist explains: “Despite not having access to home charging points, people will buy electric vehicles and take advantage of chargers with public access, just as they do now with petrol stations.”
Furthermore, Edison Next anticipates that “we will experience a shift from alternating current charging to direct current or fast charging.”
“More and more EV drivers rely on public charging and are willing to pay more for it to be as fast as possible,” says MacÃas Santiago.
The eMobility experience of the company in other countries
The trajectory of the EDF Group, to which Edison Next belongs, in the field of sustainable mobility is deployed in different countries in order to achieve the goal of converting its entire fleet to electric by 2030.
In France, the Izivia branch is exclusively dedicated to the development of eMobility.
Therefore, it already manages a network of more than 6,000 fast charging points throughout France, with the goal of boosting more than 8,000 high-power sockets by 2030.
In addition, they have just signed an agreement with Morrison to accelerate the strengthening plan with 450 million euros in investment.
Last year, they began installing more than 2,000 high-power chargers in all the group’s McDonald‘s subsidiaries.
In Italy, the EDF group, through Edison, is involved in several initiatives to promote sustainable mobility.
For example, they have been offering comprehensive solutions to the business sector for years, ranging from fleet analysis to plan the electrification process to the design, supply, installation, management, and maintenance of charging infrastructure.
This activity has led to strategic collaborations with car manufacturers such as Toyota/Lexus to promote the adoption of electric vehicles.
Finally, in 2022 EDF installed, on average, 7,000 charging stations each month in countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Belgium.
Deployment of Edison Next charging points in Spanish territory
“Our goal is to establish a network of charging points large enough to guarantee accessibility and convenience for all EV drivers in Spain,” reveals MacÃas Santiago.
It is envisaged that to achieve the objective of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC in Spanish) of 5,000,000 electric vehicles by 2030, 340,000 public access stations will be needed.
Currently, the country is far from meeting the objectives set out in the PNIEC and Fit for 55.
Of the 45,000 set as a target for 2023, around 30,000 charging points have been reached, although 9,000 of these infrastructures are still not operational.
In this context, the expert states: “It is essential to focus our efforts on addressing this challenge. Our team’s goal is to lead the installation of these charging points.”
“The company’s capillarity, with offices throughout the Spanish territory, allows us to directly guarantee management and maintenance activities for the infrastructures,” he adds.
