Alex Trelinski
SPAIN’S first two public electric charging points for lorries opened on Monday at strategic points off the AP-7 motorway in the east of the country.
The stations at Sangonera in Murcia and San Isidro in Alicante province are based at logistics bases of the Disfrimur freight company.
The charging points set up by Iberdrola can be used by lorries and vans from all companies in addition to private light vehicles.
Murcia’s Minister for Development and Infrastructure, Jose Ramon Diez de Revenga, said the Sangonera opening was an important step for ‘green, sustainable and digital logistics’, with over 6,000 trucks per week covering routes between Murcia and the rest of Europe to deliver fruit and vegetables.
In the first phase, two 180 kilowatt (kW) chargers have been installed at Sangonera and San Isidro, to which an MCS (Megawatt Charging System) charger of 1,200 kW of power will be added, which will allow very fast charging speeds.
This initiative will accelerate the decarbonisation of a strategic sector for the economy, since 96% of the goods transported in Spain do so by road, creating a lot of greenhouse gas emissions.
Raquel Blanco, global director of Smart Mobility at Iberdrola, stressed that the cost of electricity in the medium term ‘is cheaper’ than traditional fuel used in the transport sector, as well as helping to combat climate change.
The two new facilities are in addition to Iberdrola’s ultra-fast charging station in Elche, which is the most powerful electric car recharge point in southern Europe.
The aim is to create an emission-free HGV motorway route for 450 kilometres between Puerto Lumbreras in Murcia and Vinaroz in Castellon province, with plans to extend the project to the rest of Spain’s main transport corridors over the next few years.
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