Katowice has been on top of their game lately when it comes to eco-friendly initiatives. Earlier this year they led the Forbes’ ranking for Poland’s greenest cities, they’ve just hosted our Impact mobility rEVolution’18 event, and they still have the UN Climate Change Conference COP 24 to look forward to. Now, thanks to TAURON, Katowice will also become equipped with a fully-electric car sharing fleet.
TAURON plans to construct a network of 22 electric vehicle charging stations throughout the city which will support a brand new car-sharing service. The placement of the charging stations has been carefully selected to make sure that EV drivers will be able to comfortably travel around Katowice without feeling the need to rush back to a far-off area for charging.
“We’d like the guests of the December Climate Summit in Katowice to be able to use a car-sharing service based entirely on electric cars,” said TAURON CEO Filip Grzegorczyk. “In the long term, we strive for TAURON to offer infrastructure construction for external entities, as well as complex technological solutions for the development of electromobility.”
The car-sharing service in Katowice marks the beginning of TAURON’s venture into electromobility market – in fact, the company aims to treat the project as a testing ground for emission-free solutions. To do so, TAURON plans to equip their electric car fleet with vehicles from five of the most popular electric car manufacturers in Poland, as well as incorporate chargers from a variety of suppliers into the project. This way, the company will be able to conduct field tests of the network’s functionality in multiple configurations, as well as analyse the influence of electric car usage on power grids in real time.
“The gained experience will help us prepare us to effectively collaborate with local governments [in the realm of electromobility],” explains Michał Koszałka, President of the Board, Magenta Group, TAURON. “As for the simultaneous growth of our infrastructure and the electric vehicle rental services, it comes as an attempt of solving the dilemma of what should be developed first – the market, or the infrastructure.”
Katowice is not the only focus of TAURON’s electromobility-related projects: earlier this month, the energy provider has also announced a collaboration with Kraków’s Balice Airport. The company plans to equip the airport with an EV fast charging station with an output of over 50kW, capable of charging a standard electric car in a mere 30 minutes. The localization of the station is not accidental – Balice not only houses a sizeable airport, but also serves as a mid-way point between major business centres, such as Katowice, Kraków, and Rzeszów. Installing an EV charging station in the area will make emission-free journeys between the cities much easier for locals, entrepreneurs, and tourists alike.
TAURON is Impact mobility rEVolution’18 Partner.
