The headache of electric recharging in Ile-de-France has its source with the precipitous departure of Autolib '.
Before, the 2,500 network terminals were enough to supply the rare passenger cars in circulation with energy.
"The territories relied on the Autolib 'network without asking too many questions", analyzes Cécile Goubet, general delegate of Avere (National Association for the development of electric mobility).
But when the Bolloré group's Bluecars left the region with a bang in July 2018, their terminals stopped working.
And users find themselves running out of fuel.
“Recharging was not suitable for general public vehicles, there were technical incompatibilities and an upgrade that was difficult to do”, continues the specialist.
The communities then begin to work on the needs of their territory.
“For example, installing fast charging stations in the city center to charge time for shopping,” continues Cécile Goubet.
Conversely, in residential areas, where you can stay overnight, favor slower loads.
It took time to define a suitable strategy. ”
"Only 17% of Ile-de-France residents have a recharging point less than ten minutes from home"
Except that in parallel, the market is experiencing a sharp and unexpected rise.
In 2019, sales are starting to take off.
But it is above all following the health crisis that they explode: + 332% in December 2020 in France.
The number of private electric vehicles goes from 10,000 to almost 19,000 (almost double) in Ile-de-France alone.
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“The autonomy of the batteries is increasing, continues the specialist.
And the crisis has pushed households to turn to individual modes of transport (bicycle and car) with limited environmental impact ”.
The creation of the Low Emission Zone in an intra A86 perimeter and the objective of banning thermal vehicles in 2030 may also have played a role.
As a result, the departments are today under-equipped.
Thus, that of Hauts-de-Seine offers only one terminal for 24 private electric vehicles.
Where we recommend one… for 10 cars.
And again, that's without counting utilities and hybrid refills, which also come to connect.
"Only 17% of Ile-de-France residents have a charging point within ten minutes of their homes, regrets Grégoire De Lasteyrie, delegate for new mobility in the Ile-de-France region.
We would like that by 2023, they will be 45%.
This requires going from 7,000 to 12,000 terminals in the public domain.
"
Awareness, finally
The territories have become aware of this and are trying hard to remedy it.
The Sipperec energy union, which brings together 116 communities, is developing its Borne Bleue network.
With 104 charging points in service, 168 more are planned for 2021 and 120 more for 22.
In 2021, 168 Blue Bornes, the new network of charging stations for electric cars, will be installed.
/ DR
Paris, for its part, granted Total for ten years the installation of 1,830 new charging points for cars (7 kW), 140 for two-wheelers (3 kW) and 10 fast-charging hubs (50 kW) in parking lots.
Ultimately, the Parisian network will thus have 2,329 charging points, or 56% more than today.
The Metropolis of Greater Paris has launched Metropolis.
This network will set up new terminals in place of the old Totem poles of the Bolloré group and create 502 new charging points.
The first were activated in December in Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine).
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Finally, to help local authorities finance the installation and maintenance of equipment, the Ile-de-France region has opened a budget of 44 million euros.
And this week, it launched Roulez Branchez, an information platform on electric mobility.
In particular, it offers an up-to-date map of functional terminals, their power and their price, with the promise of reliable data.
The problem of interoperability still remains to be resolved
As for individuals and especially condominiums, assistance is also being deployed.
“Because it is an issue in dense areas to manage daily recharging.
And it is necessary that the co-ownerships seize it from the beginning ”, further details Cécile Goubet.
Paris, for example, has a plan for the 42,400 condominiums in Paris, which house 306,600 parking spaces.
“Equipping 4% of the condominium park in Paris would make electric charging accessible to 47% of condominium parking lots”, underlines the Parisian Climate Agency.
The problem of interoperability, that is to say the possibility for users to load on any network, remains to be resolved.
And there, it will take a little more time.
"It is certain that today, you need at least four or five different cards if you want to load in Ile-de-France", recognizes a connoisseur of the file.
“But things are changing quickly,” promises Grégoire de Lasteyrie.
Since 2017, new equipment must be interoperable and offer fee-for-service.