Enel S.p.A. on E-Mobility

Automotive IQ interviewed Ernesto Ciorra, Head of Innovation & Sustainability at Enel S.p.A., on the current challenges and delays for e-mobility in Europe, and how these issues can be solved by innovative solutions in the future.

Mr. Ciorra, how does Enel’s commitment to e-mobility meets its overall sustainability strategy? We want to make the world a better place and this is a way to do it. As a global business (reaching everyday more than 200 million people), Enel is committed to becoming a carbon-free company by 2050. This is because we do care about our planet and first of all the people living on it. How could we support a form of mobility other than e-mobility?

Could the lack of innovative thinking in the utilities business be one reason for the delay in charging infrastructure development in Europe?

It might be, yes, at least one of the reasons. Anyway as Enel we are very proud about what we have accomplished in this field. We have been pioneers in developing, selling and installing charging infrastructures, and as I said during the COP21 in Paris, we are the leading company in the world in developing and introducing a V2G charging infrastructure into the global market.

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With regards to the state of e-mobility in Europe: What do you see as the mayor challenge to speed up the sales of e-cars and the implementation of a charging infrastructure?

E-mobility in Europe is slowly ramping up to significant volumes, in some countries already reaching 2-3 % of new sales.Although mass market viability is still 5 to 10 years away, sustainable business conditions for the rollout must be built today, including the necessary technological updates. This includes the availability of charging infrastructure for long-distance traveling as well as the improvement of battery capacity and the cost per kWh. Both are key parameters in guaranteeing a continuous improvement over the EV’s TCO which is the real hurdle for EV adoption today.

Do you see solutions to these challenges?

At first stage Infrastructure availability must be granted through funding and subsidies, particularly where the deployment of charging stations could happen only at market loss conditions. In Member States where the market uptake is slower than expected and where there is a lack of supporting policies for EV sales, regulated deployment should be considered in order to bridge the gap until market viability of charging infrastructure operation. With regards to EV battery capacity improvement, vertical integration from one side and supply chain synergies on the other side will enable the drop of cost per kWh. Nearby business opportunities (e.g. residential storage) might also support the establishment of a snowball effect over storage production cost, mimicking what happened to PV panel cost structure in the last 10 years.

How important is the collaboration between different stakeholders? Which forms could this collaboration have?

Technology adoption is generally an ecosystem related problem, and electric mobility is undoubtedly a multidisciplinary business opportunity that must be undertaken by taking into account perspectives from different industries, ranging from utilities to automotive and IT industries.

This might have the forms of joint venture for e-mobility focused startups, solving specific problems in the complex value chain, as well as EU funded cooperation projects, where most of today’s electric mobility issues are being sorted out by the means of deep networking and cooperation.

Looking to the future: What do you think will be the most important development regarding the electrification of transport for society as a whole and the utilities in particular?

Electrification of transport is going to be developed by a combination of technology breakthroughs, supporting policies and industrial paradigm shifts.

The open innovation concept and the capability to leverage a complex supply chain, with a significant de-leverage over intellectual property compared to the past, will constitute as key drivers for the competition, promoting technological improvements and a rethinking of incumbents business models, particularly with regards to automotive and utilities industries. Mr. Ciorra, Thank you very much.