e-Vadea, a charging point operator founded by the SPIE Group and the Ecological Transport Modernisation Fund managed by Demeter, has put eight charging parks at motorway service stations in France into operation at the turn of the year 2022/2023 after winning a tender from the motorway operator Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône (APRR) in spring 2022. This was later followed by charging parks at motorway service stations operated by Vinci.
Now, e-Vadea is starting its further expansion beyond the motorways and entering a new phase of its business. Before the end of this year, e-Vadea plans to set up more than one hundred fast-charging points at ‘strategic locations’ in 14 municipalities across the country. The first of these charging points have now been inaugurated in Perros-Guirec in the Côtes-d’Armor department and in Châteauroux in the Indre department.
Perros-Guirec will have a total of two 120 kW stations and two 60 kW stations, giving a total of 16 charging points at four high-traffic locations (town centre, Trestraou, Ploumanac’h and Port de Plaisance). Ideally located close to beaches, restaurants and shops, these stations will allow visitors and residents to charge their electric vehicles while enjoying the municipality’s tourist attractions.
Four 180 kW stations with a total of 16 charging points are available in Châteauroux, which are also spread across four highly frequented locations (Avenue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Avenue de La Châtre, Rue Paul-Accolas and Boulevard de la Valla). According to the company, these stations are ideally located close to administrative, shopping and residential areas and allow residents, business people and visitors to easily charge their electric vehicles on a daily basis.
The expansion of the e-Vadea network is to be further accelerated: SPIE CityNetworks plans to open 25 new sites by the end of the year, while 50 sites are currently in the negotiation phase.
SPIE also emphasises that the e-Vadea solution offers an overall concept that includes financing the infrastructure, installing and connecting the charging stations, installing the signage and operating and monitoring the infrastructure using SPIE’s ORIOS solution, as well as preventive and corrective maintenance of the charging stations. This operating model should enable local authorities to benefit from a high-performance charging infrastructure without having to make their own investments, while at the same time increasing the attractiveness of their region.
Meanwhile, SPIE CityNetworks is already preparing a third expansion phase, following charging stations at motorway service stations and in cooperation with French municipalities: The first e-Vadea station for charging electric lorries is also due to open this year.
“Our ambition is to meet the growing needs of electric vehicle users by offering a reliable, accessible and fully integrated charging network in the regions,” said Marie-Pierre Maccario, Director of Business Development & Strategy at SPIE CityNetworks. “These new installations demonstrate our ability to support local communities in their energy transition while enhancing their attractiveness, yet without impacting their public finances.”
spie.com
