Rome/Berlin, September 24th, 2014 - The Enel Group, through its distribution subsidiary Enel Distribuzione SpA, and Hubject GmbH announced the signature of a cooperation agreement whereby both parties will work together for the development of an Europe-wide eRoaming framework. Through eRoaming, electric vehicle drivers are enabled to charge on facilities that are not owned nor operated by the utility they are customers of. The common goal of the cooperation will be to enable electric vehicle drivers to charge their cars on around 5,000 facilities across an area spanning from Sicily to Lapland with each recharge being automatically billed to their utility customer accounts back at home.
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 Groups charging points as well as those recharge facilities owned or operated by other players in Spain, Italy, Romania and Greece. Altogether, EMM supports over 2,000 charging points.
Hubject operates an European eRoaming platform since May 2013. Over 120 European platform participants share the aim to provide their customers with barrier-free access to public charging points for electric vehicles throughout Europe. Almost 3,000 European recharge facilities are already accessible via Hubjects eRoaming platform and identifiable through the intercharge logo, the common European compatibility symbol of customer-friendly electric vehicle recharging and billing. Alongside Italy and Germany, several partners from Austria, the Benelux states, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland are part of the intercharge family.
The cooperation between Enel and Hubject in the eRoaming domain is one of the main outcomes of Green eMotion, the EU research project on electric mobility grouping 43 partners from industry, the energy sector, electric vehicle manufacturers, municipalities, universities as well as research institutions.
We are well aware of the need for user-friendly electric vehicle recharge both domestically and cross national borders. commented Livio Gallo, Director of Enels Global Infrastructure and Networks Division. Within the framework of the current agreement Enel and Hubject will mutually exchange information, know-how and expertise with the aim to make EMM and intercharge compatible. Enel and Hubject will therefore accelerate the interconnection of recharge infrastructures across Europe, with a view to creating a new European electric mobility model greatly enhancing driver comfort and, ultimately, promoting an eco-friendly travel culture.
Starting point for our collaboration with Enel was the research project Green eMotion said Andreas Pfeiffer, CEO of Hubject GmbH. We see that intercharge is turning the vision of a commonly accepted framework into reality. Together with our partners we have achieved major steps in the direction of a customer-friendly European charging network. With Enel we have found another strong and experienced partner to work with in order to accelerate the growth of the interoperable charging infrastructure in Europe.
About Enel
Enel is Italys largest power company and Europes second listed utility by installed capacity. It is a leading integrated player in the power and gas markets of Europe and Latin America, operating in 32 countries across 4 continents overseeing power generation from over 95 GW of net installed capacity and distributing electricity and gas through a network spanning around 1.9 million km to serve approximately 61 million customers.
Enel Group subsidiary Enel Distribuzione SpA is the second largest distribution system operator (DSO) in Europe, with over 32 million customers and more than 1.1 million km lines. With 32 million smart meters installed at its customer premises, all remotely operated, Enel Distribuzione is at the forefront in the development and roll-out of smart grid technologies. In the electric mobility domain, Enel Distribuzione operates the eRoaming platform and the Italian electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
About Hubject GmbH:
Hubject GmbH is a Berlin-based joint venture formed by car-manufactures, energy and technology companies. The company operates a cross-industry business and IT platform connecting charging infrastructure, service and mobility providers. intercharge is a compatibility sign and framework currently used by more than 120 European partners enabling a customer-friendly recharging and billing process for charging electric vehicles. For further information please visit www.intercharge.eu or www.hubject.com.
Media contacts:
Enel Spa Hubject GmbH
Media relations Juliane Wittek
Phone: +39 06 83055699 (responsible for the purposes of German press law)
Fax: +39 06 83053771 Phone: +49 (0) 30 788 93 20 21
Email: ufficiostampa@enel.com Mobile: +49 (0)151 182 143 05
Email: presse@hubject.com
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