In 2019, the European Environment Agency released a report revealing that around a quarter of Europe’s total CO2 emissions were coming from transport, with road transportation representing the largest portion of this pollution. Notably, transport was also the only sector that had experienced an increase in emissions, growing by 33% from 1990 to 2019. Spurred on by these figures, alongside public opinion about the need to mitigate climate change, it’s no surprise that transport featured prominently in the EU’s highly anticipated European Green Deal.
Offering the roadmap for Europe to become a climate-neutral continent by 2050, the Green Deal laid out ambitious plans to cut transport emissions by 90%. As expected, road transport was tackled, stating that Europe’s existing infrastructure should be adapted to provide an impressive 1 million charging stations for the “13 million zero- and low-emission vehicles expected on European roads” by 2025. Keen to deploy “as quickly as possible”, the Commission set out to transform residential and long-distance travel areas with the help of the wider ecosystem, via funded open calls and collaboration projects.
This is where EIT Urban Mobility’s project ‘EV charging from lampposts’ comes in, led by pioneering startup SimpleCharge, along with a host of supporting partners, including: Škoda Auto, VEFRESH, Iceberg Consulting, North-West Croatia Regional Energy Agency (REGEA) and the Croatian city of Samobor. Answering EIT Urban Mobility’s call to address the lack of e-vehicle charging infrastructure, the project’s consortium swiftly tested and commercialised a pioneering lamppost-based charging device across the emerging markets of Estonia, Croatia, Romania and Latvia. Fuelled by financial support from EIT Urban Mobility, this collaboration not only advanced the EU’s Green Deal objectives, but also served as a shining example for other European cities to follow.
A simple solution for a complex problemAt the heart of the project is SimpleCharge, a Latvian startup born from the challenge of finding e-vehicle charging solutions in the capital city of Riga. Drawing inspiration from the city’s extensive urban street light infrastructure, SimpleCharge emerged with the innovative idea of leveraging this existing network to address the issue.
Offering a fast-track solution, the small charging device can be installed within one day, compared to the 9-12 months required for traditional charging stations. Additionally, its instalment around the lamppost itself requires little extra space or equipment, making its placement incredibly versatile. This means the charging stations can be easily assembled in inner city areas and residential areas alike, especially advantageous as residential areas are typically lacking charging options and are the places that most drivers park their cars for 8-9 hours overnight. Furthermore, the installation is highly economical, costing approximately one-tenth of the setup expenses for traditional charging stations. “I believe SimpleCharge can vitally help [accelerate] the transition to zero emission vehicles, as they offer a cost-effective and rapid solution for these vehicles to charge where they are: at home, offices, or on the go. Our solution is quite simple and elegant.” explains Karlis Mendzins, CEO of SimpleCharge’s existing partner Eleport Latvia.
A cross-border collaboration
EIT Urban Mobility’s project connected the Latvian startup with local partners across Europe, allowing for on-the-ground testing and deployment across a wider geographical area, with reduced bureaucracy. Fuelled with funding and support, the solution was successfully piloted and commercialised in the cities of Tartu, Estonia; Riga, Latvia; Samobor and Koprivinica, Croatia; and Brasov, Romania.
While it typically takes around a year to test and commercialise a solution of this kind in a new market, this project was able to speed up the process to just a few months. And, the charging stations have already had a positive impact, with local project partners signalling its advantageous effects, showing promise for future expansion.
One such example is the city of Tartu, which, as the second largest city in Estonia, has around 98,000 inhabitants and roughly 1,500 electric vehicles currently in use. Raimond Tamm, Deputy Mayor of Tartu City Government, explained that finding novel charging methods that can respond to the growing numbers of e-vehicles is one of their priorities. “Right now we have about 45 public charging locations”, he explained, “and around 1,500 lampposts around the city”. Looking at these numbers alone, SimpleCharge’s solution offers a “good opportunity to really develop the charging network…I believe it will give a really good impact, especially when we are thinking about covering different locations related to longer-term parking. The initial investment cost of this solution is rather low compared to many competitors, so it will give a really good opportunity to place it in different parts of the city”.
Indeed, the positive impacts of the project extend beyond the cost savings and convenience for city administrations, by also providing both immediate and longer-term gains for citizens. Kristaps Elvis Volks, CEO of SimpleCharge explains that “until now, in Eastern Europe around 60% of citizens have been living in apartments with no access to electric vehicle charging”. He hopes that their charging device and the on-the-ground collaborations established through this project will change that, “making owning an electric vehicle even more accessible”.
A really bright future
Global e-vehicle sales saw an approximate 30% year-on-year increase in 2023, with the number of new electric vehicles on the roads expected to grow further in the coming years. As Europe continues to prepare for this switch to electric transport, more cities must be adapted for this new reality, and SimpleCharge intends to lead the way. “We have created fast-track guidelines for how to deploy EV charging stations in any city in Central and Eastern Europe”, explains Volks.
In the meantime, EIT Urban Mobility will continue to launch projects that contribute to the transition to electric transport – and startup SimpleCharge encourages innovative SMEs to get involved. “From the success of Simplecharge in the project, we would also recommend for other startups in the urban mobility industry to apply for these innovation projects if they see that testing their business model scalability is the next step to their business development”, adds Volks.
“The future of electric vehicles in my opinion is really bright”, concludes Raimond Tamm, Deputy Mayor of Tartu City Government. “People using electric vehicles will have a really nice chance to choose between different charging solutions as a normal part of their everyday life, going to the shopping centre, sports hall or going to work, where the charging is already nearby”.
