Following an investment of €25 million, the city’s e-mobility network has reached the milestone of 1,000 charging stations throughout the neighbourhoods and is working towards 3,000 in anticipation of growing demand
Over the next few months, Endolla Barcelona will provide faster charging by doubling and tripling the power of on-street stations and those located in Aparcaments BSM car parks. The increased power will reduce vehicle charging times by half
The network will continue to integrate other e-mobility platforms so that clients of other operators can use Endolla Barcelona from their regular apps, and during 2024 it will set up a network of battery swapping stations for electric motorcycles in Aparcaments BSM car parks
Ajuntament de Barcelona is committed to furthering sustainable mobility in the city, and its policies promoting the use of electric vehicles are a key part of its strategy. With the goal of providing the infrastructure needed to boost e-mobility, it created the Endolla Barcelona service, which is managed by Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (BSM) and has already become the largest public e-mobility network in Spain and southern Europe.
Following a cumulative investment of €25 million up to 2023, provided in part by the European Union’s Next Generation funds, Endolla Barcelona has hit the milestone of 1,000 charging stations throughout the city, in line with a far-reaching, equitable expansion strategy that stays ahead of anticipated demand to support Barcelona residents in the transition to electric vehicles.
E-mobility is currently facing three major challenges that call for innovation in all sectors of industry: the need for competitive vehicles with better battery range and lower prices, accessible and easy-to-use charging stations, and the efficient and smart use of energy as a tool to make e-mobility truly sustainable.
In recent years, the city of Barcelona has been working on smart energy management and infrastructure challenges through Endolla Barcelona within the framework of several European Union projects and in public-private partnerships with value chain operators (component manufacturers, energy companies, vehicle manufacturers, etc.), making Barcelona the leading city in innovation in this sector.
Thanks to these efforts, Endolla Barcelona now reaches all neighbourhoods equally, providing residents with an extensive network of efficient charging stations powered by 100% renewable energy. It currently has 3,300 active users and an average of 14,000 top-ups per month.
Over the next five years, BSM plans to invest at least €15 million to keep growing and supporting the needs of the general public. In line with this goal, work is under way to add 2,000 new charging stations in Aparcaments BSM car parks starting next year. This means the city will be prepared to reach 3,000 stations as demand grows.
Greater power for faster charging
Although Endolla’s model focuses on slow, planned charging, it also needs to offer fast charging and “opportunity” charging. That’s why Endolla Barcelona plans to triple the power of its on-street charging stations to 160 kW. This will help encourage use of the network by Barcelona residents who don’t have charging stations at their homes or workplaces and among non-residents who commute to Barcelona in electric vehicles.
Endolla Barcelona will also double the power of the charging stations in Aparcaments BSM car parks to 7.4 kW. In this case, the goal is to reduce charging times while maintaining the commitment to sustainable charging, defined as planned charging that, using energy intelligently, takes advantage of off-peak hours. It’s estimated that the increase in power will make it possible to reduce vehicle charging times by half. The increases will gradually be deployed over the coming months.
An accessible network open to everyone
Convenience, accessibility and proximity are key principles of Endolla Barcelona’s growth strategy. The network is working to reach agreements with other e-mobility operators that will make it possible for these companies’ clients to also use Endolla Barcelona charging stations from their regular apps without having to sign up for the service.
Currently, Endolla Barcelona has established agreements with 10 operators (Bosch, Efimob, Electromaps, Etecnic, Iberdrola, Place to Plug, Shell Recharge Solutions, Spirii, Wenea and Zunder) and will keep adding to the list in 2024.
New battery swapping stations to facilitate electric motorcycle mobility
Endolla Barcelona seeks to provide solutions for new urban mobility habits and needs. As such, over the course of 2024, it will work to create a battery swapping network for electric motorcycles in Aparcaments BSM car parks, in collaboration with Silence. The goal is to offer motorcycle users pre-charged batteries to make urban mobility easier and more sustainable.
This will consolidate and extend the pilot project carried out with various electric motorcycle operators in the BSM Cotxeres de Sarrià, BSM Pl. Navas and BSM Gràcia Motos car parks as part of the EU-funded projects ECOSWAP (led by EIT Urban Mobility) and eCharge4Drivers.
This initiative is one of Endolla Barcelona’s public-private partnership innovation projects to jointly tackle some of the main challenges that must be addressed to facilitate the adoption of electric vehicles. Smart energy management and the development of new solutions for vehicle charging are some of the lines of work already under way.
