ROME – The charging network for electric cars on Italian motorways is growing, but only 19 out of 100 stations offer access to high-power charging (Hpc). This is highlighted by the annual report “The map of columns on the motorway 2023”, drawn up by the portal specialized in electric mobility, InsideEVs, which for the second consecutive year monitored the national motorway infrastructure.
In one year, the number of columns on the motorway has practically doubled, but not all recharging points (there may be more than one in a column) are high-powered and not all regions are structured in the same way, so much so that in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna there are more columns than in the whole of the South.
The study only considers the columns located inside the motorway service stations and in direct current with high power (Hpc, High power charger), i.e. from 100 kW up. A choice due to the fact that this is the only type of recharge capable of making a trip by electric car practical. In fact, thanks to rapid charging, it is possible to make the time required for refueling reasonable (under 30 minutes), reducing the possibility of finding the columns occupied by other vehicles.
The analysis showed that there are 121 electrified service areas out of a total of 476, but only 92 (equal to 19%) have HPC recharge provided through 406 recharge points. Data showing that the network has more than doubled compared to the 38 fast service areas (for 172 charging points) recorded in 2022 (+142% for fast service areas, +136% for HPC charging points).
The study also shows that the majority (about 77%) of the growth, however, depends on the new installations operated by Autostrade per l’Italia, which manages 3,000 km of the total 7,000 km of Italian motorways. At the top of the motorway recharging ranking are Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy, with 15 equipped service areas, of which 14 and 13 respectively equipped with high-power columns supplied by 58 and 56 recharging points, followed by Lazio, with 11 high power service for 46 charging points. The negative feedback continues for Basilicata, Molise and Sicily, still without columns along their respective motorway arteries, while Calabria and Friuli-Venezia Giulia are equipped only with standard columns (not HPC).
In short, the analysis shows a two-speed motorway recharging network, with the North having almost four times as many service areas with recharging compared to the South.