Be Charge, a Plenitude (Eni) company, has been granted over 100 million euro by the European Commission and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) to construct a high-speed charging network for electric vehicles across eight countries, including Italy, Spain, France, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Slovenia, and Greece.
The project aims to promote electric mobility and support the transition to clean energy. The funding includes a loan of 50 million euro from CDP and a non-repayable contribution of 50.4 million euro from the European Commission.
CDP played a crucial role in facilitating access to European resources and programmes for Italian companies and acted as the implementing partner for the European Commission in Italy.
The European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) awarded the European Commission’s contribution last September as part of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
Adina Vălean, European Commissioner for Transport, said: “With our Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility, we want to support the fast roll-out of recharging infrastructure. This will enable the market uptake of zero – and low-emission vehicles, and ultimately turn our climate goals into reality. The Be Charge project will make a positive contribution, creating a network of ultra-fast recharging points for electric vehicles in eight Member States. Such a large network will further reassure consumers, encourage them to charge their cars across the EU and thus promote electro-mobility”.
Stefano Goberti, Chief Executive Officer of Plenitude, said: “The funds awarded are a clear recognition of Be Charge’s commitment to the field of electric mobility which represents an important part of Plenitude strategy to support the energy transition. This transaction is part of the Company’s plan, which currently has more than 15,000 charging points, and aims to develop a high-power European infrastructure for electric vehicles and to double its network by 2026 reaching 30,000 points”.
Massimo Di Carlo, Deputy General Manager and Chief Business Officer of CDP, said: “We are proud to have concluded this financing agreement in favour of the Be Charge project to develop an efficient and sustainable transport system and to increasingly steer our commitment towards the energy transition. In addition, the transaction confirms both the profitable cooperation and synergies with all European stakeholders and the role of CDP as a facilitator in accessing European Union resources to implement sustainable projects, of which Be Charge is a virtuous example”.