Infrastructure investor and advisor Macquarie Capital and Italian company IP have established a 50-50 joint venture to electrify fuelling and service stations in Italy.
The joint venture IPLANET will oversee the transition from traditional fuel pumps to electric charging stations at 510 IP service areas. The transition is expected to be completed by 2032.
Roberto Purcaro, executive director of infrastructure and energy capital and head of Macquarie Capital Italy, said: “By 2030, Italy is aiming to have 6.6m electric cars on the road and over 160,000 [electric vehicle] charging points installed across the country.
“We continue to assist companies in their energy transition plans and, through this joint venture with IP, we look forward to playing a key role in helping to meet these ambitious targets, which form an important part of the decarbonisation of the transport sector.”
Fast charging technology will be employed with the target of enabling travellers to recharge in about 15 minutes, reducing waiting times and encouraging the use of electric vehicles.
New catering, shopping and car care services will also be installed. Electricity is intended to be supplied by solar panels installed on site and managed by battery storage in some of the service areas.