Sept. 24 – A new “eRoaming” European Union platform will allow electric vehicles drivers to charge their cars in stations not owned or operated by the utility of which they are customers. The goal is to establish about 5000 stations of this sort, in an area that extends from Sicily to Lapland, with the bill automatically charged to the contract utility. Enel Group, through its subsidiary Enel Distribuzione, and Hubject signed a Memorandum of Understanding to bring to light this ambitious project. The Enel Group is one of the largest operators of recharge facilities in Europe with more than 1,600 charging points installed in Italy and, through its subsidiary Endesa, in Spain. To foster eRoaming across Europe, Enel has developed EMM, the “electric mobility management” system, an eRoaming platform supporting the Group’s charging points as well as those recharge facilities owned or operated by other players in Spain, Italy, Romania and Greece. Hubject, since May 2013, manages the European eRoaming platform, in which over 120 participants seek to provide their customers with barrier-free access to public charging points. To date, there are approximately 3000 charging structures in Europe, identifiable through the “intercharge” logo, the common European compatibility symbol for customer-friendly electric vehicle recharging and billing. In addition to Italy and Germany, several partners in Finland, Scandinavia, Austria and the Benelux countries are supporting the eRoaming Hubject model. The partnership between Enel and Hubject in the eRoaming is one of the main outcomes of Green eMotion, the EU research project on electric mobility that brings together 43 partners including local governments, universities, research centers and operators in the industrial sector. “We are well aware of the need for user-friendly electric vechile recharge, both at the national and international level,” commented Livio Gallo, director of Global Infrastructure and Networks Division of the Enel Group, explaining that “within the framework of the agreement, Enel and Hubject will exchange information, know-how and skills to make EMM and intercharge compatible.” (Red)
