EDF wants to lead electric vehicle charging market

/ Renewables / Wednesday, 17 October 2018 09:30

EDF unveiled a plan for electric mobility, through which it aims to gain the top spot in its four main European markets, including France.

This plan aims to “make EDF the undisputed leader of electric mobility as it unfolds and accelerate,” said CEO Jean-Bernard Lévy, during a press conference. However, it did not mention the rate of the investment that will be needed.

EDF's ambitions revolve around its four major European markets or “core countries”: France, Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom. The group wants to be the leading electricity supplier for electric vehicles by 2022. Practically, EDF plans to supply 600 000 electric vehicles with electricity, being a 30% market share in the four countries in question.

The company will offer next year an integrated offer, with the supply of electricity and a charging solution for customers who have a parking space. The company also wants to be the first network operator of electrical terminals. Its subsidiary Sodetrel is expected to deploy 75 000 terminals by 2022, compared to 5 000 that deployed nowadays.

Moreover, EDF sets for itself the goal of exploiting 4 000 “smart” terminals by 2020. These will make the vehicles’ batteries available to networks and contribute to their balance during periods of high consumption. In this area, a joint venture must soon be set up between EDF and the Californian startup Nuvve.

An additional goal is in favor of the energy transition offered by the company, which is held almost 84% by the state. EDF has already determined its ambitions in terms of solar power and storage. These announcements were made at a time when the government will unveil its multi-year energy program (EPP) for the years 2018-2023 and 2023-2028.

The scenarios depicted by the RTE Framework Operator (EFF Branch acting autonomously) suggest stagnation or erosion of the question, especially thanks to energy efficiency.

However, the CEO of EDF took the opportunity to echo his disagreement on this point. “It is wise, particularly with regard to the needs of electric mobility, to also foresee a slight increase in electricity consumption,” said Jean-Bernard Lévy.

“We think it is not a good thing that those in charge of energy policy in the country are content to study and analyze scenarios of only what would be a stagnation or a slight decline in annual consumption of electricity,” he insisted.

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