E.ON and CLEVER are creating an electric highway from Norway to Italy

Over the next three years E.ON and CLEVER will establish a network of 180 ultra-fast charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) in seven countries connecting Norway to Italy. The network is appointed as an EU flagship project and has received €10 million in funding from the European Commission.

Although, it is still early days, both companies are seeing a global shift towards electric vehicles. Countries as well as the EU is beginning to make pledges to phase out petrol- and diesel-fueled cars and consumers and car manufactures are switching to electric vehicles. In parallel the car manufacturers are making technical progress and launch attractive new EV models.

Now, international energy and e-mobility Company E.ON and Denmark based e-mobility service provider CLEVER make electric driving easier. The two companies will connect Europe with 180 ultra-fast charging stations for electric vehicles in seven countries over the next three years. The project has received support from the European Commission’s Connecting Europe Facility program (CEF) of €10 million and has been named a flagship project by the European Commission, as one of only four projects out of a total of 349 applicants. The EU project is related to 160 of the 180 stations. In addition to the EU project the partnership will also establish stations in Norway with the Norwegian service station chain YX.

The 180 sites are the first wave of charging stations to be spread across Europe. But this is only the beginning. Earlier this year, E.ON and CLEVER formed a strategic partnership with the ambition to offer 150 kilowatt (kW) charging at more than 400 sites in a network that allows current and future e-mobility users to drive seamlessly through Europe.

“Together with strong partners we are taking a joint step towards establishing a comprehensive ultra-fast charging infrastructure in Europe. It is a testament to our commitment to provide convenient e-mobility solutions for our customers in Europe. We see a reliable ultra-fast charging network in combination with our home and destination solutions as main prerequisites for a mass market adoption of electric mobility,” says Frank Meyer, Head of Innovation and B2C at E.ON.

Casper Kirketerp-Møller, CEO at CLEVER continues: “We are not just putting up charge points. We are designing charging stations with customer needs in focus, to ensure our customers have the same good and reliable experience no matter where they meet our brands. We believe that the combination of being able to cater for almost any car brand, securing the right locations and offering customers well thought through solutions will be part of convincing people that EVs are a real alternative to conventional cars.”

The 180 stations will be spread across seven countries. The majority of the locations will be built in Germany, followed by France, Norway, Sweden, UK, Italy and Denmark. Each of the stations will provide 2-6 charging points and will be rolled out in Europe during the next three years. The first sites will be located in Germany and Denmark.