Gijón will have this summer with 10 new charging points for electric vehicles on public roads. The City Council and EDP presented the project for the installation and commissioning of a new infrastructure for rapid and semi-rapid recharging, which makes Gijón the municipality of reference for electric mobility in northern Spain. EDP ll invest more than 300,000 euros in its installation, operation and maintenance.

This project reinforces the commitment of the City Council and EDP sustainable mobility in the municipality, through a concession of five years, extendable, for the start-up of the infrastructure.

The development plan of the new network of charging points has been presented at the Reception Hall of the Gijón Town Hall, by the Councilor for Citizen Security, Mobility and Transport, Esteban Aparicio Bausili; and the director of Smart Home of EDP ña, Antonio González-Lamuño.

Aparicio stressed that "the government team and the entire corporation are committed to sustainable mobility, at this time in which the preparation of the Integral Sustainable and Safe Mobility Plan (PIMSS) of Gijón is being finalized. By agreement of the Plenary Session of the City Council, a Plan for the Implementation of Infrastructure for recharging electric vehicles and preparing a report for the promotion of recharging points in public car parks and community garages is being prepared. Gijón, with the necessary support of the sector, can be a city of reference in electric mobility ".

For his part, Gonzalez-Lamuño said that "this is the most relevant agreement we have reached so far in the field of electric mobility, which further extends our commitment and reinforces our leadership in the development of a broad recharging network in Asturias to meet the needs of the users of these vehicles. "

EDP already working on the installation of the points, added to the five existing in the municipality, the result of previous agreements between the City Council and EDP, and the rapid point of the ecoStation of EDP oces, where you can also refuel compressed natural gas.

The points will have a marked parking space, where users can park up to a maximum of two hours. They will be in the following locations: Plaza de San Miguel, 1; Alfredo Truán, 1; Álvarez Garaya, 12 - there will be two points-; Torcuato Fernández Miranda Avenue, 1; Avelino González Mallada, 27; Juan Alvargonzález, 41; Oriental, 11; Avenida de El Llano, 19; and Carlos Marx s / n.

One of the two points of Alvarez Garaya will be a fast charger, 50 KW, which allows recharging the vehicle's battery in 20 minutes. The rest will be 22 and 7.5 KW. Together, this new recharge network will support the main recharges users make at their homes.

To recharge, users must have the EDP ainable mobility card, which can be requested by email via mobilitysostenible@edpenergia.es or by toll free 900907000.

Soon, users will be able to manage their recharges through the mobile application 'EDP on'. The application is now available for Android devices and allows you to know the location of the recharging points, the distance to them and their availability, among other features.

Gijón was a pioneer in the implementation of recharging points in public spaces in Asturias and the first city in northern Spain to have an eco-station, an installation where one can recharge and refuel both electric vehicles and powered by compressed natural gas. EDP vested more than 400,000 euros in the installation.

The City Council and EDP the first points into operation in 2011. Since then, the growth of both electric vehicle users and the use of points has been exponential and extends to other municipalities in the region.

More than 300 people use the recharging points installed by EDP ublic spaces, both eleven that have been launched with the collaboration of Asturian municipalities - five in Gijón, two in Siero and Castrillón, and one in Carreño and Villaviciosa - the quick point of Roces. In total, the facilities record an average monthly recharge of 1,000 kWh, equivalent to traveling about 6,000 kilometers with an electric vehicle.

In addition to the agreements with Asturian municipalities, EDP leads the development plan for a rapid recharge network in Asturias. To the rapid point of Roces, new facilities will be added after the agreements reached with service stations in Posada de Llanes, La Fresneda (Siero), Ribadesella, Cudillero, Avilés, Tapia de Casariego and Laviana. In the next weeks a fast point will be active at the Asturias Airport.

The use of the electric vehicle has many associated advantages, both environmental and economic. On the one hand, its use does not imply emissions or noise pollution. The savings, with respect to combustion vehicles, can reach up to 80%. On the other hand, the efficiency of these vehicles is three times higher than that of combustion, with a much lower maintenance cost.

Sustainable mobility is one of EDP's priorities. This is one of the areas that will most impact the energy sector and will be essential for the decarbonisation of transport, representing a growing percentage of car sales in the world.