While the MOBI.E charging network is being upgraded and repaired, it’s time to see the next step. Its expansion will occur later this year, with 202 new 22 kW chargers. To help us see where they’ll be located, I decided to put all the municipalities that will get these chargers on a map, making it easier to process the already available information.
The MOBI.E is the unified electric car charging network in Portugal, where a sole universal card gives you access to many different operators. This means there is no need to have a different card for each energy operator in Portugal.
In the below we have the map with the 202 new chargers:
By looking at the map, it’s hard not to notice that the south of Portugal (Algarve) and Islands of Azores and Madeira are missing from this first expansion, which is a shame because they are the favorite locations of many people (national and foreign) for summer vacations or a simple getaway weekend.
Anyways, this kind of network will be great, especially for Renault Zoe drivers that can take advantage of the 22 kW internal charger. Hopefully the upcoming new 2018 Nissan Leaf will get at least an optional 11 kW 3-phase internal charger in Europe, just like the BMW i3…
Magnum Cap 22 kW EVSE part of the MOBI.E charging network at Tábua, Portugal
Summing up, while I think that the normal chargers implementation in Portugal is going in the right direction, the fast chargers are a completely different story. Not only there are already too many electric cars for few fast chargers, this already scarse resource is very often “out of service” for stupid reasons. The fast chargers, especially the ones installed in the cities, are often unavailable because ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) cars are blocking them or even EV drivers that park and then leave for hours. Part of this problem will go away when the chargers can no longer be used for free, however, in the near future, fast chargers will always be a scarse resource and this leads to conflicts.
In my opinion fast chargers should preferably be located at motorway service areas, where people only stop for the time needed to continue the journey. While in the cities we should have parking lots with plenty of 22 kW EVSEs at disposition.
