· The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is a key EU funding instrument to promote growth, jobs and competitiveness through infrastructure investment at the European level
· The EXPAND-E Consortium, coordinated by IONITY and GreenWay, was, in 2022, awarded more than €70M to deploy more than 2.200 recharging points (150 kW - 350 kW) for light and heavy duty electric vehicles in more than 460 locations across 23 EU Member States
· As part of the “10 years of CEF” celebrations, the EU and CINEA have selected EXPAND-E as one of 12 projects featured for the 10 years celebrations, in recognition of its large contribution to decarbonising road transport and accelerating the uptake of electric vehicles across Europe
· A ceremony with DG Move, GreenWay, IONITY, and Ardan took place on 24.09.2024 in Lodz, Poland, after driving with electric cars and charging at the project partners’ stations.
· Long-distance cross-border travel with electric vehicles across Europe is thus enabled via the charging infrastructure of EXPAND-E and co-funded by the European Union.
The EXPAND-E (EXpanding Performance and Network Density – Electric) project is a consortium of six companies, led by IONITY and GreenWay, and including Renovatio, K-Auto, Fortisis and Grid Telecom. It is organized as 3 twinned projects, EXPAND-E General, EXPAND-E Cohesion, Expand-E Hungary, and with an EU grant of more than € 70 M from the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Networks Executive Agency (CINEA).
The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is a key EU funding instrument for delivering the European Green Deal and an important enabler towards the Union’s decarbonisation objectives for 2030 and 2050. It supports the development of high performing, sustainable and efficiently interconnected trans-European networks in the fields of transport, energy and digital services. CEF investments fill the missing links in Europe's energy, transport and digital backbone.
The 3-year project is a coordinated, multi-national effort across 23 European Union (EU) Member States to expand existing locations into a truly high power pan-European electric vehicle (EV) charging network from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and from the Black Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
As part of the ‘#10 Years of CEF’ campaign, CINEA selected 12 leading projects, one featured each month. The project partners met in Lodz, Poland, with high level officials from the European Commission’s DG Move, who drove 100% electric along TEN-T roads, and used the charging stations of GreenWay and IONITY to recharge the electric vehicles with renewable energy. The events showcased that travel from Bratislava to Brussels, via Lodz, Warsaw, and Berlin is possible, thanks to the recharging infrastructure deployed by the EXPAND-E partners, co-funded by the European Union.
Paloma Aba Garrote, Director of the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA)
“Thanks to its magnitude, the EXPAND-E project represents a major leap toward a more decarbonised road transport system in Europe. With more than 2200 recharging points for light and heavy duty vehicles spread over 460 stations in 23 EU countries, it will contribute to a dense, seamless and sustainable charging network along the TEN-T roads. Deployed by several major charging point operators and e-mobility service providers, it is benefiting from a grant of more than €70 million and will significantly contribute to the European Green Deal objectives.”
Eddy Liegeois, Acting Director of DG MOVE.B for Investment, Innovative and Sustainable Transport
“The Connecting Europe Facility facilitates sustainable transport by financing the deployment of needed infrastructure in Europe. Our Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Facility is enabling larger and larger projects, such as EXPAND-E, to combine private sector investments, EU grants and loans for pan-European rollouts.”
Peter Badik, Managing Partner, GreenWay
“Looking back on the state of the EV charging market in Central & Eastern Europe 10 years ago, compared to what it is today, it was a different world. Back then there was almost no public charging and now it is now quite easy to drive from Zagreb to Warsaw with an EV and choose between operators. This is significantly due to the role played by CINEA over this period. GreenWay is honored to have partnered with CINEA 3x already, including installing and operating the first co-financed public charging station in Poland, and we look forward to continue playing a leading role in building out the public EV charging network, now also for HDVs.”
Dr. Meta Kessler, Director of Corporate Strategy, IONITY
“Together with our partners in the EXPAND-E consortium, we are taking bold steps to expanding and future-proofing Europe’s charging infrastructure, enabling long-distance electric travel and facilitating the adoption of electric vehicles on a large scale. IONITY is committed to driving the future of sustainable mobility across Europe by operating a network of over 670 high-power charging sites, ensuring that long-distance electric travel becomes a seamless experience. This initiative, co-funded by the European Union through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), not only supports the electrification of road transport but also significantly contributes to the decarbonization of European mobility.”
Amit Yudan, CEO of Ardan GmbH
“Since 2008, I have been involved with many projects deploying recharging infrastructure for Electric Vehicles (EVs), and in 2011 worked with the European Commission and the EU Parliament on the revision of the TEN-T guidelines, to include innovation and alternative fuels in them. This opened the door for many CEF co-funded EV projects. I am especially excited to be part of the “EV Journey”, from studies and pilots to large rollout projects, and proud for the opportunity I had to initiate and be part of the EXPAND-E consortium, with so many great partners. As we celebrate the success of “10YearsofCEF” with DG Move and CINEA and the great progress in the last 10 years, I invite all of you to keep doing much more, and keep pushing forward towards a much ‘Better Europe’”.
The project EXPAND-E is co-funded by the European Union.
