GreenWay (GW) is the largest network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Poland and Slovakia. GW ended the year 2019 growing its market share and leading position by deploying cutting edge new technologies, more power, more types of chargers, more charging ‘hubs’, and significantly expanding its portfolio to provide selling of chargers and services to B2B clients.
Charging Network
New Chargers & Locations
In the year 2019, GW deployed 87 new charging stations – 8 in Slovakia and 79 in Poland – to grow the core network to 216 available chargers overall.
In Slovakia, GW was an early e-mobility pioneer, opening its first fast charger in 2015. The then- top-of-the-line DBT technology has not kept up with technological advances and so in 2019 GW removed all 19 DBT chargers in Slovakia and replaced them with new, advanced technology in 17 of these locations.
Charging Hubs
No one likes to wait for the previous user to finish charging before they can start, so GW has been busy preparing charging ‘hubs’ to enable at least three vehicles to charge simultaneously. By the end of 2019 GW had eight such hubs in operation – seven in Slovakia (AVION, Europa SC, VIVO, OC Dubrawa, Dalitrans VB, Todos, and Eperia Prešov) and an extra large one at Galeria Mlociny in Poland, where up to 11 EVs can charge at once.
Increased Power Levels
50 kW has long been the standard upper level of power needed by EVs, but vehicles able to accept higher power are already on the market. To support these drivers, and help everyone charge faster, GW increased available power to between 100 and 150 kW at five locations in Poland and two in Slovakia (Ružomberok and Dalitrans).
On-site Energy Storage
Energy storage is increasingly becoming a value-added part of EV charging infrastructure. Storage devices play a key role in enabling multiple EVs to charge at the same time, supporting the grid, reducing connection fees, and enabling the integration of renewable and distributed energy sources into the energy mix, making EV charging cleaner and more affordable. By the end of 2019 GW has deployed energy storage and energy management units at three locations in Slovakia and five in Poland, providing 40-90 kW of reserve capacity at each location.
Solar Powered Charging
At the Trenčín location in Slovakia GW operates a solar array which provides power to the auxiliary energy storage device so that when EVs charge there they are recharging partly from the sun. GW is developing expertise and know-how for deploying more of these systems in the future.
Use of Clean Energy
GW is committed to providing clean and green energy wherever technically possible in the network. At the end of 2019 GW signed a major agreement to greatly increase the share of clean energy provided, which will be detailed at the end of this month. Coupled with the existing use of renewable energy certificates, GW is working to maximize the environmental benefits of electric vehicles by minimizing the amount of fossil fuel generated energy they consume.
Clients
There are around 6,200 plug-in electric vehicles in GW’s market countries; around 1,200 in Slovakia and 5,000 in Poland.
3,218 new clients joined the GW network in 2019 – 638 in Slovakia and 2,580 in Poland. On average, 53 clients joined per month in Slovakia and 215 clients joined per month in Poland.
These clients consumed 675 MWh of energy, meaning that the GW network powered 3,75 million electric kilometers in 2019 (and 6,9 million overall)!
The most commonly used connector type in both countries was CHAdeMO.
Mobile Application
In 2019 GW released a mobile application with many features based on client feedback. It enables users to find chargers, start and stop charging, filter stations choices by selected criteria, keep a favorites list, see their billing history, and much more. In short, users can now hold the GW network in the palm of their hand! The application is available for iOS here and Android here.
Within three weeks the app was downloaded nearly 2,000 times.
B2B Services
Making going electric a mass market option will require many more charging stations in many more places that people go to spend their time, like apartments and office buildings, shopping centers, gyms, restaurants, hotels, etc.
In 2019 GW launched, and now offers, an extensive portfolio of chargers and services, from turnkey solutions to complex and customized ones, to support a range of B2B customers in being able to offer EV charging options for their tenants, customers, guests, or employees.
With its market leading experience and expertise, GW is now ready to work with all sorts of third parties to provide charging solutions to help their own fleet go electric or provide the chargers and services for their clients. As the number of electric vehicles is expected to surge in the coming few years, this line of business is also expected to grow significantly.
Electric Avenue Podcast
At the end of 2018 GW launched Electric Avenue Podcast for sharing e-mobility developments from this region and from the field.
The podcast also provides a platform for having debates and discussions on important topics in the industry with experts from all over without making a very heavy carbon footprint from travel.
GW has produced 20 episodes on a wide range of topics, available here, which have been listened to nearly 2500 times, showing again, a thirst for knowledge and information on e-mobility.
Looking into 2020
Electric mobility in the Central & Eastern European region is maturing and booming. Of the 5,000 EVs in Poland, half were purchased in 2019, and we can expect even steeper growth in 2020. In Slovakia, the first subsidy for EV drivers was completely used up within its first 3 minutes and 41 seconds of being available. Clearly, the demand is there.
Thanks to the new EU CO2 standards and penalties coming into force this year vehicle manufacturers and many other players, are now making really significant investments and commitments in R&D, manufacturing, and marketing EVs. Battery technology continues to improve, meaning that the prices of vehicles will continue to fall and become affordable for more and more people.
According to Peter Badík, managing partner of GW:
“2019 was a year of laying the foundation for the coming era of e-mobility. Early in 2020 GW will be opening its first ultra-fast charging stations in both Poland and Slovakia, as well as many new AC chargers, effectively serving both ends of the EV driving market. With our new B2B portfolio we will help electrification become widespread in cities and towns. With the great, hardworking team we have built, we intend to continue leading the development of e-mobility in this region, as we have since we opened our first charger in 2015.”
About the GreenWay Network
Comprising GreenWay Infrastructure (in Slovakia) and GreenWay Polska (in Poland) the GreenWay network is the largest and most advanced electric vehicle charging infrastructure network in Central and Eastern Europe, with over 200 of its own networked charging stations throughout Poland and Slovakia. The GreenWay network provides comprehensive coverage of both countries enabling seamless electric travel throughout and between them. GreenWay driving customers benefit from partnerships with many other chaging infrastructure companies, allowing them roaming opportunities throughout Europe.
In addition, GreenWay develops the network together with interested partners and can provide charging infrastructure management services, as well as the chargers themselves, at the request of other entities.
The mission of the GreenWay network is to popularize electric vehicle travel so that Central and Eastern Europe becomes cleaner, healthier and less dependent on oil.
The GreenWay network is co-financed by the Innovation & Networks Executive Agency (INEA) of the European Commission through the Connecting Europe Facility financing mechanism and a loan from the European Investment Bank’s InnovFin program. GreenWay is the first company in Central & Eastern Europe to be recognized by the InnovFin mechanism.
The content of this document is the sole responsibility of GreenWay and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.
For more information, contact:
Aaron Fishbone, Communications Director
M: +421 911 371 827