New eCharge4Drivers Program Aims to Boost EV Adoption in Europe
A European Union-funded program involving organizations in 11 countries aims to study the infrastructure and user-experience improvements needed to simplify the mobile charging process for EV drivers.
The path toward worldwide electric vehicle adoption involves optimizing the mobile charging experience for a new generation of EV drivers. On-the-go charging is key in the transition from a traditional gas car to an electric vehicle.
eCharge4Drivers aims to study ways to improve the EV-charging experience for customers across Europe.
Improving the EV-charging process is the goal of eCharge4Drivers, a new project supported by the European Union and involving over 30 companies and university programs across Europe.
The pilot project will be deployed in 10 metropolitan areas and Trans-European Transport Network corridors, offering user-friendly charging stations with direct payment methods and other convenient features. It also aims to identify renewable energy opportunities within the cities studied, such as transportable charging stations, charging points installed in lamp posts and battery-swapping stations for light EVs.
The project will culminate in the development of an EV Charging Location Planning Tool to help guide investors and authorities in creating charging options in line with customers’ expectations, legal and regulatory factors, and sustainable charging infrastructure opportunities.
The European Union contributed €14 million in funding to eCharge4Drivers through its Horizon 2020 initiative. The program slated to run from June 2020 to May 2024 with a budget of around €18 million.
eCharge4Drivers involves some of the world’s largest players in the electric vehicle space, including ABB, Robert Bosch, BMW, Volvo Car Corporation and Centro Ricerche Fiat (the innovation and R&D arm of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles).
The project is led by the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) at the National Technical University in Athens, Greece. ICCS Research Director Angelos Amditis, who also serves as the project coordinator of eCharge4Drivers, stated in a press release that in pursuing its overall goal to improve the EV-charging experience, the project also promotes widespread electromobility adoption in line with the European Union’s efforts to create a zero-emissions transport system.
“Through eCharge4Drivers, we are in fact improving the autonomy of the electric vehicles, a factor that plays a decisive role in EVs wider and more efficient deployment, while also facilitating the design and development of smart charging infrastructure and enhanced interoperable services, offering additional incentives for choosing to purchase an electric car,” Amditis added.
Other partners in the project include the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, Berlin-based Chargery, Luxembourg-based NEXXTLAB, GAM, Germany-based GreenPack mobile energy solutions GmbH and Hubject, the Interuniversity Consortium for Optimization and Operation Research, Spain-based Electromaps, IDIADA, Barcelona de Serveis Municipals S.A., Scutum Logistic SL, and Mosaic Factor, Belgium-based Powerdale, Promotion of Operational Links with Integrated Services, Avesta Battery & Energy Engineering, ERTICO and Vrije Universiteit Brussels' MOBI Centre, Italy-based Route220, Polytechnic University of Bari and Università di Pisa, Greece-based Open Technology Services, Austria-based SMATRICS and Verbund AG, the U.K.’s University of Suffolk, and Turkey-based Zorlu Enerji Elektrik Uretim.
