Engie is accelerating the deployment of its electric charging stations in France

2023-06-15 17:30:56

Vianeo. This is Engie’s new brand for electric charging stations, the creation of which was announced on Thursday June 15. The stated objectives are very ambitious. The group plans to increase from 1,000 charging points today in France to 12,000 in 2025.

This means installing at least ten per day. An industrial and technical challenge also requiring finding available land. «We are confident, in particular because we have already secured the sites and that we have good relations with the communities,” says Didier Liautaud, the general manager of Engie electric mobility.

One-third ultra-fast charging points

The group has also already signed agreements with motorway companies, Indigo car parks in around twenty cities and the B & B hotel chain, which has 380 establishments in France. In the first half of 2024, it will also deploy the first corridor of charging stations on the Paris-Lyon axis, dedicated to trucks with batteries.

“With Vianeo, we are going to offer a very easy-to-use green electricity offer through a dedicated application, billing per kilowatt-hour and payment by credit card. Above all, we want to eliminate the fear of many customers of running out of electricity,” assures the leader of Engie. Of the 12,000 charging points planned, 4,500 will be charged ultra-fast, that is to say in less than twenty minutes.

The market for terminals is now in full swing, obviously driven by the growth in sales of electric vehicles, which are increasing by 20 to 25% on an annual basis. France passed the milestone in early May of 100,000 charging stations open to the public, even becoming the second best-equipped European country behind the Netherlands, according to the National Association for the Development of Electric Mobility (Avere). A total of 400,000 terminals should be installed by 2030, according to government projections.

A sector that attracts major energy companies, car manufacturers and start-ups

The sector, which benefits from public subsidies to encourage deployment, is attracting more and more players. There are the major energy companies, such as Engie, EDF, Bouygues and TotalEnergies, which are aiming for 4,000 charging points in 2025. Car manufacturers are also working hard. Tesla is in the process of building its network, Renault wants to set up its own and Stellantis, associated with the Italian Atlante, expects 2,000 charging points in France within three years.

We must not forget, either, all the start-ups which have contributed to boosting the sector by multiplying innovations, like Electra, Fasted, Allefo or even Ionity. They intend to find a place for themselves and have multiplied fundraising in recent months to finance their development. At the beginning of May, the French company Driveco thus completed a funding round of 250 million euros with the Dutch pension fund APG in particular.

Profitability still uncertain

For the moment, the race is more for the growth of the network than for profitability. But the sector is capital-intensive, with a fast charging station costing an average of €100,000 once installed. Engie mentions, for example, an investment envelope of «a few hundred million euros». Over time, it will therefore be necessary to have strong backs to hold on.

Especially since growth prospects remain unclear. The market for public terminals represents only 20% of recharging demand, according to specialists, the majority taking place at home or at work.

In the race for the first places, the energy companies consider themselves to be in the best position. They have the financial means, control over the cost of raw materials and already have a sufficiently large subscriber base to be able to make all sorts of attractive offers. In addition to questions of hardware reliability, the development of the market will also depend on the quality of the services offered.