EDP Energias de Portugal S A : , BP and Brisa inaugurate the first ultra-fast charger for electric vehicles in A1

EDP, BP and Brisa inaugurate the first ultra-fast charger for electric vehicles in A1

Thursday29, April 2021

Santarém Norte/Sul Service Area receives the first ultra-fast charger in A1 - North Highway, that allows charging in a few minutes. The partnership between the companies will facilitate electric mobility on national motorways.

They are already operational at A1 - North Highway - the first two, fast and ultra-fast, charging points of the partnership between bp, Brisa and EDP Comercial, within the Via Verde Electric network. The chargers were installed in the Santarém Service Area, in the North/South direction, a strategic location between the two main cities of the country, Lisbon and Porto. The equipment chosen is one of the most modern and innovative on the market.

It is now easier, more convenient and more predictable for electric mobility users to travel long distances outside urban centers. With the 150kW ultra-fast charger, it is possible to charge the equivalent of 100 kilometers of autonomy in less than ten minutes, significantly reducing the downtime. This is the first ultra-fast charger of BP and EDP in Portugal. It is also the first for this highway, where in 2020, an average 26,000 vehicles a day went by. A fast charger of 50kW has also been installed, which allows simultaneous charging of two vehicles, in AC and DC.

By the end of the year, bp, Brisa and EDP Comercial expect to equip four more service areas with fast and ultra-fast chargers, in A1 and A2, thus ensuring that there are more and better electric charging options in the North and South, in two of the main road axis. All equipment will be connected to the MOBI.E public network. With the use of the EDP Electric Mobility Card, customers of the company with an electricity contract will have 25% discount on charging, until the end of June.

The spaces for electric mobility will be properly identified next to the Colibri service areas, being part of the Via Verde Electric, the new network of fast and ultra-fast charging points that Brisa is implementing on its motorways. This concept brings together the main players of the sector, in a collective effort for the evolution of public charging in Portugal, and will be a fundamental step in the decarbonization of the country. It is through partnerships like these, that involve companies from different sectors in a common goal, that it will be possible to offer more charging options, in increasingly diverse and comprehensive locations, an essential contribution to electrical mobility.

Acceleration of electric mobility

The opening of these charging points is an important milestone in the sustainability policy of bp, which has been working to create alternative energy solutions or products with more efficient consumption, in order to reduce carbon emissions. bp works daily to evolve in its purpose of 're-imagining' energy for people and the planet, as part of the #BPNetZero journey. In Portugal for 92 years, bp is today an integrated energy company focused on providing solutions to customers, and is committed to becoming a company with zero net carbon emissions by 2050 or before, and helping the world achieve the same goal.

The Via Verde Electric network is Brisa's response to the need of accelerating the decarbonization of road traffic, through the facilitation of electric mobility. By the end of 2021, with bp and EDP, and with the other partners of Via Verde Electric, all Brisa motorways will be served by a total of 82 fast and ultra-fast charging stations (from 50kW to 350kW), installed in 40 service areas. By the summer of this year, it will be possible to cross the country by highway, from north to south, in an electric car, with complete safety and charging comfort. Brisa aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.

Elected leader by customers for charging on the public route, EDP Comercial has already issued more than 25 thousand cards of the MOBI.E network, which have already been used to make more than 140 thousand charging procedures, avoiding the emission of 1.200 tons of CO2 to the planet. As a charging station operator, EDP Comercial was also the fastest growing company in 2020. For 2021, the company wants to have more than 1,000 charging points across the country, and continue to also develop the best solutions for private charging in villas, condominiums and companies.