Smartest car charge point of Flanders inaugurated at Greenbridge, Ostend with support of Elegis
On Thursday, September 27th, under large attention, the smartest charging station in Flanders was put into use on the parking area of the innovation and incubation center Greenbridge UGent Campus Ostend. Almost 60 people interested in tomorrow’s technology as well as the Mayor of Ostend, Johan Vande Lanotte, and the Flemish Minister for Finance and Energy, Bart Tommelein, attended this event. This pilot project is a collaboration between charging infrastructure manager MobilityPlus, Antwerp law firm Elegis (Jan Delanote) and the West-Flemish energy company Yuso. With this charging station, companies can provide the ever increasing contribution of electric vehicles in their company's fleet with green electricity on the exact moments surpluses on Elia's high-voltage grid can be eliminated.
During his speech, UGent Professor and the promoter of the Campus in Ostend, Carl Devos, speeched about the importance of Greenbridge as an incubator for young, progressive companies and initiatives such as this smart charging station. Michel Verschuere, manager of Yuso gave a brief explanation of how companies with smart charging stations can contribute to the supply certainty of energy and the stabilization of the electricity grid. Because of the number of Electric Vehicles (EV’s) is expected to continuely increase in the coming years, the additional impact of the need for charging capacity for EV’s is to be fully addressed. Although charging the estimated 25 million EV’s sold in Europe by 2025 will not cause a dramatic increase in total power consumption, it is, according to McKinsey, important to choose the right moment of the time of loading the EV’s. If not, the further increase jeopardizes the already important 'evening peak’ and stability of our power grid. In Belgium this is a hot topic as in November 2018 only one of the seven nuclear power plants will be operational.
Mayor Johan Vande Lanotte, who in the past was one of the promoters of more wind and solar energy for Flanders, pointed out the further importance of the development of the knowledge center in Ostend in general and Greenbridge in particular. Minister Bart Tommelein then thanked the initiators of this pilot project, Greenbridge, MobilityPlus, Elegis Law Firm and Yuso, for choosing Ostend as the basis for the further roll-out of the smartest charging concept for EV’s. Bart Tommelein made the following brief statement: "A smart charging station will become an additional actor in our future electricity model. Especially in locations where cars are parked for a long time, a smart charging station can contribute to a stable electricity grid. By charging only at times when there is an oversupply of electricity, so when the price is the lowest. Companies with a large vehicle fleet, but also individuals at home can benefit from it in the future."
These speeches ware followed by the solemn commissioning of the smartest charging station in Flanders on the Greenbridges parking area. This charging station can also be used by anyone who has a charging card. More info about this at the secretariat Greenbridge that can provide a charge card for every visitor of Campus UGent Ostend.
Elegis Advocaten leads the collaboration between parties, as well as the launch of this project to the users. The contractual framework is set in a challenging public and private legal environment, where not only contractual aspects are discussed, but also competition law and intellectual law aspects play an important role.
After one year of extensive testing, the loading post is publicly presented on the University Ghent campus in Ostend, Greenbridge, on September 27, 2018. You are invited as well! You may subscribe at: http://www.greenbridge.be/en/evenement/inhuldiging-slimme-laadpaal.
Jan Delanote – Elegis Advocaten