EV Update reports that amid some of its toughest economic and political times for many decades, Portugal’s electric transportation programme represents a burgeoning success story.
Portugal is aiming to be the first country in the world to have a nationwide electric vehicle (EV) charging network. The network is scheduled to be operational by the beginning of next year.
The charging network, known as MOBI.E, will consist of 1,300 normal and 50 fast charging stations at shopping centres, car parks, petrol stations and hotels in 25 towns and cities around Portugal.
The open system of charging points will be compatible with all EV models, including electric motorbikes and heavy goods vehicles when they become available.
The system, which was devised and developed entirely in Portugal, is intended to be a pan-European and global platform, and the research team believes, as a result, that it can play an important role in the expansion of EV usage.
The key aspect of the MOBI.E system is that it can integrate all the currently fragmented charging networks and electric mobility services into one single system that is open and easily accessed by any user.
The Portuguese system approaches electric mobility as a series of sub-services. For example, the system has a contract with VISA to address the issue of payments and works with municipal administrations to ensure parking space availability. Customers purchase a pre-paid charging card that gives them access to all the charging points of the network.
MOBI.E also enshrines a degree of competition, as different companies are able to use the charging network, and payments are made directly to the specific company whose services are used.
Such interoperability is the reason why the system’s developers believe that it the network can expand internationally. In fact, the system works in a way similar to mobile telephony, whereby users are able to ‘roam’ from one network to another.
The race is on between Portugal and the UK, whose Zero Carbon World charity is attempting to install 50 sites by next month and 1000 in total in 12 months, all 32 amp. This is in addition to the 700 charging points already installed in London and a small number of other UK cities. Great to see this pioneering work.
The race is on between Portugal and the UK, whose Zero Carbon World charity is attempting to install 50 sites by next month and 1000 in total in 12 months, all 32 amp. This is in addition to the 700 charging points already installed in London and a small number of other UK cities. Great to see this pioneering work.
