e-Vadea has become the latest operator of high-power charging (HPC) parks in France. The company recently launched eight HPC charging parks at motorway service stations in the eastern part of the country, following a tender win from motorway operator Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône (APRR) in spring 2022.
The new HPC network has the support of SPIE CityNetworks, a French subsidiary of the SPIE Group, and the Ecological Transport Modernisation Fund (FMET) managed by Demeter. Each of the charging parks, which range from five to twelve charging points, offers up to 300 kW of power and is equipped with CCS, CHAdeMo, and Type 2 connections. Customers will be able to pay with a bank or charging card.
The e-Vadea network was announced over the summer and was set to include 13 stations on APRR and VINCI motorways by the end of the year, however, at present, there are only eight charging parks in operation, none of which are on VINCI motorways.
“Fastned set up operations on our motorways a few months back. We are proud to now welcome a new operator in the market, e-Vadea,” says Guillaume Hérent, General Manager of APRR. “Thanks to this unique combination and this service provided by multiple operators, we are now making it easier for people to make long-distance trips to ski resorts in the Alps, Germany, Switzerland and Southern France.” He continued: “We already have plans to increase the number of charging points given the surge in electric vehicle use. Our stations have been designed to allow this expansion and to meet the needs of motorists as effectively as possible.”
SPIE CityNetworks is expanding its expertise with the addition of e-Vadea stations to its portfolio. While the company has mainly marketed its Orios solution and provided comprehensive services for charging solutions, including consulting, installation, and operation, its parent company, SPIE, has experience in setting up motorway charging parks. For instance, SPIE built fast-charging sites in Germany for Ionity.