Round Table
08.12.2021 [11:00-13:00] – Blagoevgrad, BULGARIA
In Blagoevgrad, our team was greeted by plenty of enthusiast for a test-drive of an electric car.
Representatives of the local press were again interested in our event. We had journalists from Bulgarian Telegraph Agency and westpress.net who turned up to report on the event.
During the round table, Mr Martin Zaimov (BAEPS) gave context on the rationale behind the E.VE.CR.I project with a summary of the electric mobility situation in Bulgaria (EVs count, charging stations and their locations, charging network operators, potential for growth etc.) and simultaneously figures from the most developed western European nations were shown for comparison. The project objectives, expected results and impact were presented.
Throughout the meeting, Mr Zaimov went in-depth into who should be interested in installing charging stations based on specific needs and locations.
‘It makes a lot of sense for people who own restaurants to install charging stations because a meal takes exactly as long as the time needed for a not-so-quick – not a 50kW but say a 22kW one – station to charge the vehicle in 1-2 hours – all while dining in the restaurant.’
In the spirit of this cross-border project, the attendees were also informed about the electric mobility situation in Greece. Mr Athanasios Tsioutras (HIT-CERTH) was available for a Q/A during the whole meeting. The guests were happy to ask a lot of questions regarding legal framework and charging infrastructure in Greece – they were, for example, surprised to find out that the Greek government offers subsidies for the installation of charging stations.
Representatives from the Blagoevgrad municipality attended the meeting and asserted the municipality’s interest in renewable technologies and the E.VE.CR.I project and expressed willingness to participate in the whole initiative.
Alexender Hristov – a local entrepreneur who also deals with real estate in Greece – expressed interest in the project and already had a proposal for a charging station location.
Attendees followed two more presentations: one on Eldrive (with over 350 charging stations, Bulgaria’s biggest charging operator) and eCars (a Bulgarian manufacturer of premium charging stations).
Mr Zaimov asserted: ‘In the end, our goal is for these operators to allow interoperability, so to speak. A person having a single application and a single card for payment to be able to use any charging station on both sides of the border.’
The meeting led to a lengthy discussion on legal, regulatory, financial and technical issues concerning the installation of charging stations and electric mobility in general.
This meeting managed to spark a lot of interest among the guests and finished with concrete ideas for the further development of the project.
Links to the slideshows presented during the round table:
EVECRI Project Presentation, Martin ZAIMOV (BAEPS)
Electromobility in HELLASTRON Network, Stavros STAVRIS (HIT/CERTH)
Eldrive Charging Stations Infrastructure