Galp expects to have 5,000 electric vehicle charging stations installed in Spain and Portugal by the end of this year, in line with the goal of 10,000 units across the Iberian Peninsula by 2025. The partnership with IKEA, which involves the installation of 278 charging points, most of which are already operational at the brand's stores all over the country, will result in the creation of the biggest private electric vehicle charging network in Portugal.
In the opinion of Jorge Alegria, manager of the electric mobility department at Galp, this is another step towards energy transition, and also reflects the company's commitment to electric mobility and decarbonisation. It should be pointed out that the year 2022 came to a close with a total of 1,926 charging points on the country´s roads and streets, 1,427 of which are normal, 394 are rapid and 105 are ultra-rapid systems.
Galp´s electric mobility strategy began more than ten years ago, in 2010, with a pilot project that took off with the transition to a market system in 2020. “Galp has been involved from the very beginning and we began to see a consistent increase in the demand for this type of technology, driven by a greater awareness of issues related to energy transition”, he concludes.
Jorge Alegria, manager of the Electric Mobility department at Galp
In the words of Teresa Abecasis, COO Commercial at Galp, the partnership now in force with IKEA reflects the brand's focus and commitment to issues of sustainability and energy transition, more specifically with regard to the decarbonisation of the land transport sector. “These partnerships are one of the cornerstones in the development of our public charging network, and have turned us into the biggest operator in the country right now”, stresses Jorge Alegria.
The manager of the electric mobility department at Galp highlights the provision of several options, from normal 7.4 kW charging systems (more suited to plug-in hybrid vehicles), to 22 kW systems (geared to 100% electric vehicles), in addition to 60 kW rapid charging systems (geared to 100% electric vehicles with shorter stays). Altogether, says Jorge Alegria, “this project guarantees around 4 GWh of charging power, enabling 21 vehicles to be charged with an average range of 100 km simultaneously per hour”.
“These partnerships are one of the cornerstones in the development of our public charging network, and have turned us into the biggest operator in the country right now”
However, the road to energy transition promoted by partnerships is hardly a new topic at Galp. As the electric mobility manager explains, the oldest system, implemented by Sonae Sierra, “provided charging solutions at the company´s shopping centres when the Portuguese mobility market was still in the pilot phase”. The energy corporation has more recently established several other systems in different sectors. Intermarché, Makro, Grupo Sana, Grupo Continental and Grupo CUF are examples that consolidate the brand's electric mobility goal. “Maintaining and reinforcing our leading position in this emerging market is our goal, while we continue to provide the best and most efficient charging solutions”, explains the Galp manager.