Our technology

Enel's technological solution is based on an interconnected network made up of 3 functional areas: interconnected charging stations, smart-charging services and home-vehicle-grid aggregation services.

Advanced technologies developed by Enel enable electric mobility customers to be informed and active players.

A smart and interconnected network

Thanks to the experience gained in the management of "smart" systems linked to the electricity grid, Enel was the first to design and implement a series of pilot projects for the development of electric mobility, investing in research into technologies and standards and developing strategic partnerships with car manufacturers, industry operators, and regional and municipal administrations.

We have developed an infrastructure of charging stations designed to meet the different needs of customers and all are connected to the Electro Mobility Management System (EMM) platform, which allows remote cloud-based monitoring and the management of all charging station functions, both private and public, spread around the world, thus creating a smart network.

Thanks to the electric mobility management platform, Enel can:

• monitor charging station operations in real time, immediately detecting any malfunctions and checking levels of use.
• remotely update the charging station functions by simply downloading new software packages.
• carry out remote activities to restore service, for example, by unlocking the connectors from station sockets or resetting the station.

Customers can:

• view the location and availability of a charging station in real time.
• book a charging station.
• have real-time information on the charging session in progress, receiving text messages at the beginning and end of the charge, and view the history of charging sessions and payments made. 

These features are possible thanks to the E-go Charging app, available on the Android and iOS stores

The charging service

The e-go Recharge app is a time-based charging service. The costs are:

• €0.025/min, equal to €1.50 per hour (VAT and taxes included) for charges carried out on Slow sockets - sockets with available power of up to a maximum of 22 kW (Type 3a and Type 2).
• € 0.366/min equal to €22.00 per hour (VAT and taxes included) for charges carried out on Fast sockets - sockets with available power over 22 kW (Type 43 kW, CCS Combo2, CHAdeMO).
• From 2 October 2017 to 31 March 2018, the rate for Fast charges will be offered at a 40% discount. It will be possible to charge at €0.217 per minute (VAT and taxes included) instead of €0.366.

It is possible to book a charging session for free on the selected socket for a period of 15 minutes with just one click until 31^st March.

The app lets you check how much you have spent and once you have finished charging you will receive an email with all the details and costs of the service; you can also find the nearest columns to your location on the map by typing your address. The colour of the column varies depending on whether it is available or not.

Your credit card will be charged directly and you will receive an electronic invoice at the end of the month.

Smart charging

The smart EMM platform that controls all charging stations provides a fundamental function to ensure the provision of services useful for the customer, called Smart Charging, which is also useful to better manage the infrastructure.

This feature allows users to manage the profile of a charge taking into account, for example, preferences expressed by the customer, the technical constraints of the network or opportunities such as high production from renewable sources.

Thanks to Smart Charging, a customer can:

• Take full advantage of contracted household power, avoiding overloads when charging.
• Carry out charges by choosing the period of the day when electricity costs less.
• Decide when to charge, taking into account the production level from the user’s own photovoltaic panels, thus becoming a genuine "prosumer."

At the same time, the charging infrastructure operator can:

1. Manage the network more flexibly
2. Control the charging power to avoid grid congestion. This allows the optimisation of grid connections and minimises costs.
3. Facilitate the use of energy produced from renewables, which costs less.

The interconnected and smart charging station network, combined with the EMM platform's capabilities, opens up new opportunities.

The constant growth in production from renewables creates opportunities for the grid, however, its unpredictability remains. For this reason, it is essential to have energy storage tools to mitigate risks. The smart management of batteries associated with all electric vehicles on the market helps to solve this problem: the recent acquisition by Enel of the Californian company eMotorWerks, announced at the end of October, facilitates this thanks to the functions developed and already marketed by the company on the US market.

This solution makes it possible to intelligently aggregate the contributions of individual electric vehicles connected to the grid, creating opportunities to deliver new services.

With this acquisition, from 2018 Enel will be able to market solutions that will enable customers, especially those who charge at home or at the office, to play an active role, contributing to grid stability and the integration of energy produced from renewables.