We are happy to announce that E.VE.CR.I’s team has completed all the round table and living lab events on the Bulgarian side. In the towns of Ivaylovgrad, Svilengrad and Kardzhali, all located in the southeast region of the country, we managed for the last time to present to local stakeholders and other interested individuals the benefits of electric mobility and answer all their questions on the topic. People learnt about the economic opportunities that electric mobility could possibly bring to SMEs, as well as its positive contribution to the environment and communities. Our audiences were especially interested in the process of the installing charging stations with its technicalities and the legal framework covering this domain.
Ivaylovgrad is a small town but due to the abundance of natural landmarks, as well as archeological sites locally, it enjoys a great influx of tourists during the summer months. There we were greeted by a welcoming town administration and local stakeholders who took our cause at heart. We explained to them that the town currently has no public charging stations and whoever installs one would reap the economic benefits by being a first-mover. Our audience pledged their willingness to contribute to the development of electric mobility within their municipality and provided us with contact information for potentially suitable for the purpose enterprises.
By being located only 10km both from the Greek and the Turkish borders, as well as being the home to numerous casinos and hotels, Svilengrad is strategically very important for the economic development of the region. Its geography and the nature of the economic activity occurring in it are making it an ideal hub for the development of electric mobility. There is already one quick AC charging station in the town but due to the volume and nature of traffic passing through it, we deem it to be clearly insufficient. In Svilengrad’s town hall we were welcomed by young and open-minded individuals who were genuinely interested in the subject at hand. Town’s mayor Atanas Karchev himself honoured our event and, on top of that, he had numerous questions to ask. He and the rest of our audience wanted to know about the prices of EVs, their energy consumption, what are the exact requirements and steps for the installation of charging stations and many more. This might have been our most successful event since, at the end of it, a few representatives from local casinos and hotels were asking for our contact information so we can assist them in the process of installing charging stations at their premises!
Our final destination was the town of Kardzhali – a very modern and prosperous looking place. There we did not hold a formal event. Instead, we had conversations with representatives from local hotels and restaurants, in the living lab style.
With this our little Odyssey to promote and develop electric mobility in the cross-border region concluded. Apart from doing amazing job with familiarizing local decision makers and SMEs with electric mobility, a more tangible product of the project is the installation of more than a dozen charging stations so far. Dear readers please stay tuned for more information about the successes of this project.