Electric cars: EIB supports Enel’s plan for 14,000 new charging stations
- EUR 115 million loan to Enel’s subsidiary Enel X Mobility
- Charging stations will be installed throughout Italy in 2018-22
- EIB financing will cover 50% of the total investment cost
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is working alongside Enel to finance around 14,000 new charging stations for electric vehicles that will be installed throughout Italy over the next five years. This agreement has been signed today in Rome by the EIB and Enel X Mobility, a subsidiary of Enel X, the Enel Group business line that focuses on innovative products and digital solutions. Enel X Mobility will receive a 10-year EIB loan of 115 million euros, guaranteed by Enel Spa, of which 50 million euros have already been finalised.
The EIB loan will cover around 50% of Enel X Mobility’s total investment. The project contributes to some of the EIB’s main goals: fighting climate change and promoting innovation and sustainable mobility.
Via its National Programme Enel X is committed to substantially boosting the development of electric mobility in Italy, providing the country with 7,000 charging points by 2020, expected to double to 14,000 by the end of 2022, with a total investment of around 300 million euros.
“Our cooperation with Enel is longstanding. The EIB shares with Enel the great attention to the environment and to the impact on people’s lives and on SMEs,” said EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco. “After the modernisation of power plants and our 1 billion euro loan to finance 41 million new digital meters, we are now particularly pleased to support this project: electric cars will help improve people’s lives by reducing air pollution and noise.”
“We are firmly committed to giving Italy a decisive boost to developing a sustainable mobility system. Our plan is ambitious, and it is important to have the EIB on board to implement it,” said Enel CEO Francesco Starace. “We will build a widespread and technologically advanced infrastructure, which will help increase the number of electric cars on the road in Italy and will significantly benefit the environment, the economic system, businesses and citizens, improving their daily lives, as well as travel and consumption habits.”
Source: eib.org
