Endesa has presented Endesa X Way, the new business line dedicated exclusively to electric mobility
Endesa X Way, Endesa’s new line of business, starts with the aim of focusing on facilitating this journey towards the global transformation of mobility for all users and electrifying transport in our country. By the end of 2021, it had already installed more than 9,500 charging points in Spain, both in the public and private sectors.
In addition, last year the installation of 150 and 350 kW ultra-fast chargers began. In this regard, last January, the largest charging station in Spain was inaugurated in Ciudad de la Imagen (Madrid), allowing 46 electric vehicles to be charged simultaneously thanks to its 20 ultra-fast (150 kW) and 26 semi-fast ( up to 22kW).
We have spoken exclusively with Elena Bernárdez, CEO of Endesa X Way, about electromobility and the challenges that both Endesa and Spain are facing.
What committed investment do you have planned? what is the roadmap?
I hope you can answer these two questions when we release the strategic plan that is normally released in November. Yes, I can anticipate that investment is going to increase, and not because we have suddenly woken up more generous in the morning, but because we really believe that it is necessary to be able to transition towards electric mobility for all people and all companies.
Is the Administration facilitating the path to electrification or is it putting sticks in their wheels?
In the last four years, the sector has been listened to infinitely more. At least more things have been done from a regulatory point of view than the previous eight have done. What happens is that due to the structure of administrations in Spain, there are different responsibilities and they are not always coordinated, and all of this makes it difficult.
In addition, there are administrations that did not know what permits to give for a recharging point, since it seemed that we were going to install a nuclear power plant. It should be noted that they have made a regulation that very complicated terminology is not necessary for low-voltage charging points, simply make a responsible statement, and the installation can be undertaken, which is a gift.
On the other hand, we have fixed the problem for chargers that are of higher power, which are absolutely necessary. On the other hand, we have to fix the issue of the distribution companies, since there are recharging points that are not energized and that seem to be damaged, giving a tremendously bad image of what our own brand is and what the market itself is.
It would be fabulous if they put up a contest for all the operators so that they could have land spaces available to those who want to invest to put up a recharging structure.
What we are doing is trying to reach agreements with different owners of all types of land to be able to install recharging infrastructure that is associated with customer habits. That is to say, we are in restaurants, hospitals and thus not only stay in service stations or shopping malls.
What comes to me is that once in Spain the bureaucracy slows everything down. How do you see Spain in this regard compared to other countries around us?
I am not a specialist in the regulation of other countries, but while in central Europe it takes a month to install a charger, we need three, five or six, seven, or even eight months.
If it were up to us, we would have invested more and installed many more charging points than we have at the moment.
Do you think that the perfect storm we are experiencing (shortage of chips, economic uncertainty, the invasion of Ukraine…) in addition to the incessant increase in the electricity bill is also a brake on advancing in electromobility?
Definitely. But this situation we have, and especially in Europe, has shown us that we have to be more autonomous from an energy point of view. We have to be increasingly autonomous, beyond decarbonization, which is absolutely necessary.
Because part of the electricity bill is subject to the price of gas, but there is another part that is not subject to gas, which is generated by renewable energies. That is why society is becoming more aware of the interest in putting solar panels in our houses. The country also has to be more self-sufficient and, therefore, has to go towards renewable energies.
If to this is added that electric cars will have a reasonable price, people will end up opting. And what we have to do as entrepreneurs is to extend the infrastructure as quickly as possible so that there is not a shred of doubt that they are going to be able to load and not be left with the anxiety of “I can’t load”.
He talks about solar panels, but not everyone lives in a single-family home. And if we add to this the fact that in Spain between 60% and 70% of vehicles sleep on the street, how can progress be made towards electromobility?
With more charging infrastructure. In this sense, the Royal Decree that was approved last year requires all public access car parks to have a recharging point for every 40 spaces.
But it is just as important that there is an obligation to put chargers on as it is important that we all understand that just as we have to pay for the electricity we consume at home, we have to do it when recharging the car. In 2012 there were public administrations that installed chargers with total free energy and that has been maintained until just a year and a half ago…
Do you think that in Spain there will be enough installed power to recharge a mobile fleet with millions of electric cars?
Categorically yes. Without a doubt. Today we even throw away the energy we are generating because we have a surplus supply.
The thing to get out of your head is that just charging at night is cheap. It is that when there is more energy generated by renewables, perhaps the most economical time of day is at 12:00 in the morning, which is when the sun is at its highest. In addition, unlike a home, the car has batteries, where the energy is stored.
But a change of mentality is also necessary. We don’t need to charge electric cars every day. We do not need 500 kilometers of autonomy every day.
