News from Vallelunga
And to do so we chose a temple of speed: the Vallelunga racetrack, just 40 kilometres from Rome, where on 9 November we presented our national plan for the installation of the infrastructure for the recharging of electric vehicles. An ambitious project foreseeing the creation of a wide-ranging infrastructure of public charging stations across the country with 7 thousand charging stations to be installed by 2020 in order to arrive at 14,000 by 2022. But our first objective is already for 2018 when we plan to have close to 2,500 charging stations in operation from north to south so that you can travel the greatest number of kilometres in and outside the city without being afraid of running out of energy.
No worries
Technology and innovation are the instruments by means of which we as a company intend to realise the e-Mobility Revolution, a revolution that shall begin in Italy and then expand to all the countries in which we operate while continuously looking to new markets.
The objective of our plan – for which we have envisioned investments between 100 and 300 million euros over the next few years – is to create the necessary conditions that will allow everyone to utilise electric cars while eliminating what we could define as range anxiety, in other words, the worry of getting stuck without energy; a risk, however, which can be overcome through the creation of a vast network of public charging stations. “Intervention,” Venturini explained, “will contribute to increasing the number of electric vehicles in circulation in Italy, involving all of those – whether in public or in private – who believe, as we do, in our country and in our ability to innovate.” But, as in all revolutions, you have to start with a change in mindset, dispelling the false myths that continue to impede the diffusion of a new model of mobility: one that is green and sustainable.
In his speech Venturini not only explained how the limits of e-cars are few and easily overcome, but why they are the future of transport. The electric car, he reminded his listeners, eliminates emissions at a local level, does not have a catalytic converter, and therefore does not emit pollution. In addition, according to studies and consolidated data from well-to-wheel (life cycle assessment) analyses, the electric car produces circa 72% less CO2 than a traditional one. And what’s more: continuing to consider the entire well-to-wheel process, an electric car is three times more efficient than an internal-combustion engine vehicle: indeed, in terms of energy used, it can travel three times the amount of kilometres of a traditional car. The alleged risks facing the entire electrical system with a greater diffusion of e-cars have also been debunked: if in Italy today one million e-cars were to be on the ground, energy demand would increase by only 0.3%. Furthermore, the state of the distribution network is secured by those technologies Enel has developed over the years, and they enable a virtuous circle.
Electric cars will become ever more necessary to the system as it becomes a smart one and draws from renewable sources: electric cars are batteries on four wheels distributed throughout the land. And, thanks to our technology, they can support the network, close the circle, and create new value.
Head of Enel X
A dynamic plan
The wide-ranging operation studied by our company to create a charging infrastructure capable of covering all of Italy across the board, Alberto Piglia, Head of e-Mobility Enel X, explained during the course of the event at Vallelunga, is based on three fundamental characteristics:
- it is dynamic because we want to develop it in conjunction with the evolution of the electric car market;
- it is open because we are ready to involve both public and private entities throughout the country – from micro enterprises to large companies – with contributions reaching 65% of investments for the infrastructure’s installation;
- it is flexible because it will be ready to welcome the innovations in the automotive sector, including the latest developments in self-driving cars.
A path that aims to enable new solutions for the present while preparing the creation of value and innovative solutions for the future.
It’s already here
To discover our solutions for electric mobility both private and public, Piglia invited all those interested in contributing to the e-Mobility Revolution to navigate the online portal e-smartlife.it: the online collection point for coming into contact with our electric mobility solutions and services that are open to all private citizens, companies, and administrations that want to be a part of this reality. A universe in constant becoming like the innovative design of the newest urban charging stations that will be installed by the middle of 2018. In fact, during the course of the presentation in Vallelunga, we presented the prototype of the new “Quick” charging station developed by Marco Susani and Defne Koz. “This new infrastructure,” Piglia explained, “will improve its integration into the urban fabric because it is smaller than the present one and utilises our EMM system (Electric Mobility Management) for the remote management of data. In addition, it is scalable and versatile to make it easier to use and to simplify maintenance. In closing, it is technologically advanced because it utilises IoT systems (Internet of Things) in order to interface with the world of e-mobility.”
e-Mobility Valley
In order to realise a plan for electric mobility at a national level that will truly be dynamic, open, flexible, and reproducible in other contexts and countries throughout the world, we must always keep up with the pace of innovation. It is with this approach that we promoted the creation of a technology hub dedicated to the development of the most advanced solutions for electric mobility: “A centre of research and development in which we are able to experiment with new technologies, testing both new generation charging stations and software, the interfaces among them and electronic modes of transportation,” Venturini underlined. A technology hub realised within the spaces of the Aci Vallelunga racetrack of Rome where there are already 20 charging infrastructures made with our technology.
A structure that aims to connect and involve research institutions and both national and international startups, and which will allow us to test the new infrastructures directly in the field by taking advantage of Aci Vallelunga’s specialist competencies in the area of road safety and racing in order to transfer that high level of performance developed in competition on the racetrack to daily life. The Italian project for electric mobility is the first step of a great adventure. We have only just begun to outline the present of e-mobility, and we want to get moving in order to make it ever more simple, smart, and fun.
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