For drivers the lack of charging infrastructure is a major barrier to embracing electric vehicles. Stefania Ceccariglia helps Enel X’s network give a boost to the future of Italy e-mobility.
Un lavoro per me: Stefania e la rivoluzione della mobilità elettrica in Italia
Stefania Ceccariglia drives her new electric Smart Fortwo from her home in Quartiere Nomentano Trieste to work in Tor di Quinto. “This has been a real game changer for me. My zero-emissions car is comfortable, silent, reliable, fun and money-saving,” says Stefania. “Just one refill covers all my city trips of the week and charging points are easy to find.”
Charging points will be even easier to find soon. Enel X, a subsidiary of Enel, the leading domestic energy provider, will install a network of 7 000 charging points throughout Italy by 2020 and then double that to 14 000 by the end of 2022. As well as Stefania’s home in Rome, this will include rural areas, allowing for long-distance travel. The new charging infrastructure will make electric vehicles a viable option for people buying new cars.
This important project also provides Stefania with work. Two years ago, she got a job as head of Enel X’s global communications. “It is an exciting time,” she says. “The momentum is there for an e-mobility revolution.”
This focus on climate, innovation and the impact on people’s lives is shared by the European Investment Bank, the EU bank, which backed Enel X’s investment with a 10-year loan of €115 million, covering half of the total project cost.
A boost to Italy e-mobility
Stefania is confident that this new, widespread and technologically advanced infrastructure will reduce ‘range anxiety’, the fear that an e-car will run out of juice and leave the driver stranded. She says she used to feel that way, too, but now “I never regret the switch to my e-car and hope many others will switch too.”
She hopes to see more e-cars on the roads of Rome in future. That will drive down pollution and meet tougher regulations on emissions. “Enel X is the perfect fit for me and the European Investment Bank is supporting our vision,” says Stefania.
Stefania’s job is one of millions touched by the support of the European Investment Bank, the EU bank. By 2021, investments signed by the EIB Group in 2017 alone are expected to have raised EU GDP by 1.1% and to have created 1.2 million jobs. Even in 2036, there will still be a 0.7% increase in EU GDP as a result of the EIB's 2017 investments, as well as 650 000 extra jobs. Jobs like Stefania’s.
