Enel X, the Enel Group’s advanced energy services business line, has reached the full financial close for the AMBRA-Electrify Europe (AMBRA-E) project, which envisages the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Italy, Spain and Romania. The project is co-financed by the European Commission’s Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), through its Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program, and the European Investment Bank (EIB), as well as through Enel X’s own resources.
The AMBRA-E project, coordinated by Enel X and implemented by its Italian, Spanish and Romanian local companies, involves the deployment of more than 3,000 EV charging stations, specifically along seven Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Core Network Corridors, which include the main connection roads in Urban Nodes and along some Core Roads, and is expected to be completed by 2022.
The charging stations will become part of Enel X’s public charging infrastructure network in Italy, Spain and Romania, and will include Quick (up to 22 kW AC), Fast (up to 50 kW DC each) and Ultra-Fast charging points (up to 350 kW DC each). The whole network will be accessible to registered users through Enel X’s Juice Pass app or Enel X’s interoperability partners apps, and to non-registered users via ad hoc payments. The AMBRA-E project aims to reduce the charging times required for long distance trips through Italy, Spain and Romania, in order to bolster cross-border electric mobility.
The European Commission selected the AMBRA-E project in the 2017 CEF Blending Call, which combines different funding instruments with the aim to maximize private involvement and capital in favor of clean transportation initiatives minimizing dependence on oil and mitigating the environmental impact of transport. The project envisages a total investment of 70.75 million euros, whose financing includes 14.15 million euros from a grant provided by the European Commission through INEA, kicking off the deployment of standardized charging points accessible to all EV users and bridging the electric mobility technology adoption gap between EU Member States. In addition, part of the 115 million Euro loan signed with the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 2018 for the deployment of up to 14,000 public charging points throughout Italy by 2022 will be employed in the project.