ESB Completes Pilot Electric Vehicle Project for the European Commission
- 46 fast charge points installed as part of a cross border EU funded project
- 10 AC charge points installed at Iarnród Éireann rail stations
- Over 1,200 public electric car charging points located across the island of Ireland
- All major towns in Ireland now connected by electric vehicle chargers
- Communication & IT systems in place to support electric vehicle drivers
ESB announced today (29th July, 2014) that it has successfully completed the installation of electric vehicle fast chargers across the country plus 10 AC chargers located at Iarnród Éireann sites as part of a pilot project co-funded by European Commission via the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). In addition, five fast chargers have been also installed under this programme in Northern Ireland by the Department for Regional Development, Northern Ireland.This first of its kind project, will provide advice and learning experiences for similar projects in other European countries. These installations bring the total number of public electric car charging points across the island of Ireland to approximately 1,200, connecting all major towns and cities.
The new fast chargers are located on major motorways and inter-urban routes including the M1 connecting Dublin to Belfast, M4 at Enfield, N4 at Carrick-on-Shannon, M5 at Ballinasloe, M7 at Monasterevin, M8 at Cahir, M9 at Kilkenny City, and M11 at Gorey. Fast chargers are also located at a number of commercial sites including Applegreen, Topaz, Tesco, Supervalu and Londis nationwide. In addition there are 10 AC Chargers installed at Iarnród Éireann sites.
The expansion of the charge point network allows the electric vehicle driver to travel longer distances, facilitated by the availability of a fast charger every 60 kilometres along Ireland’s main roads. Fast charging enables an electric vehicle to get an 80% charge in as little as 25 minutes.
John McSweeney, head of Innovation, ESB said: “It is a great achievement to reach the completion of this project. A huge amount of work has been put into providing fast charge points throughout Ireland and it is expected that the nationwide network of charge points will encourage people to go electric in the near future.”
He added: “An electric car costs just 2 cents a kilometre to fuel and the average motorist could achieve running cost savings of almost €2,300 a year. Electric cars offer the prospect of very real savings to Irish motorists.”
As part of the EU TEN-T co-funded project, ESB has been responsible for the implementation of supporting IT and Communications platforms which allow electric vehicle drivers to seamlessly travel across both jurisdictions, which is a first in Europe. The data and behavioural studies monitored during the project have provided an invaluable insight into driver needs and habits, which will be imperative to the final report to European Commission.
ENDS