Electric cars, columns at the pole while recharging costs the same as a full tank

Having closed the circle on the 600 million euro moved from the Pnrr to the Ecobonus, it is now necessary to accelerate on the Italian recharging network front so as not to accumulate delays. The decision of the Ministry of the Environment was to divert part of the funds not allocated to the installation of recharging systems to support the demand for electric mobility. But the risk at this point is to slow down the infrastructure process. With a full electric car fleet that is still very limited - 5 per cent of registrations, a third of the European average - Italy has on paper one public access recharging point for every five electric cars in circulation. But if the objective is to support the growth of the bev market share - today lagging far behind the European average and the levels reached by the main European markets - then it is necessary to further implement the recharging infrastructure, a necessary condition for the spread of electrified models on the market.

The difficulties encountered in the bidding phase to allocate NRP resources, between calls for tenders that went unanswered and long delays in allocating funds, show that the road is still uphill. The mechanism of 'time-based' resources has worked poorly. "The ministry," highlights Francesco Nose, secretary of Motus E, an association in support of electric mobility, "has guaranteed planning with dedicated resources, in the future, without the difficult timelines of the Pnrr, to complete coverage in areas currently poorly covered. This is what operators and manufacturers of recharging systems have been asking for a long time and represents a change of approach, necessary to introduce an effective support system for investments in the sector.

Capillary coverage in the south of Italy and efficient services along the Italian motorway network are the main bottlenecks, with entire stretches of motorway still without any recharging services. Motus-E's latest report highlights the number of active recharging points on motorways, there are 1,159, 'with 45 per cent of motorway service areas equipped with infrastructure'. Slightly more than half, therefore, do not yet have an active service. Overall, there are 67,561 points installed in Italy, a number that has increased, as of 30 June, by 10,569 in 12 months and by 1,569 in the second quarter of the year. Of the 1,159 motorway charging points, 49 are in the process of being activated. "Significant growth compared to the 963 active points in June 2024 and 657 in June 2023," comments Motus-E, but one that needs a further quantum leap. In order to ensure a widespread network of charging points, 'incentives are needed for areas currently in market failure that can be identified through the Single National Platform (PUN)' suggests Motus-E. A second aspect concerns the simplification and harmonisation of permitting procedures - a phase that lasts an average of one and a half years and that risks affecting the sustainability of business plans - as well as coordinated actions to speed up the timing of connection to the electricity grid.

"Today a recharge costs the same as a full tank and this is a limitation for users, because it increases the running costs of an electric car,' explains Eugenio Sapora, general manager of Electra . We need to review the tariff structure for public charging of electric vehicles, to reduce the incidence of charges on final prices for consumers. 'Charging costs,' adds Sapora, 'depend on high and low power systems. For us, operators of fast-charging systems, the hope is that the regulator, in this case Arera, and the government will be able to deliberate to reduce the burden on recharging costs of the low-power quota. A similar system has been introduced for low-power charging systems, Btve, and we call for it to be done for high voltage as well'.

In particular, Motus-E adds, 'it is necessary to adjust the tax and tariff framework for home charging in order to overcome the current unequal treatment between employees who use electric company cars and those who use endothermic cars, and between users who can charge directly at the home meter and those who cannot'.