Leading European car park operator APCOA and energy company Innogy have signed a declaration of intent to equip its car parks with EV charging infrastructure.
The partnership aims to transform APCOA car parks into smart mobility hubs that support electromobility in urban centres.
Long-term plans include delivery stations for packages as well as charging options for electric cars, scooters and bicycles, in addition to parking spaces for cars and bicycles, as well as electric car sharing.
Initially, APCOA and Innogy plan to install intelligent charging infrastructure compliant with German calibration legislation.
This will be followed by installation of interlinked digital systems designed to simplify finding and reserving parking spaces and charging points, concluding the charging process and paying for a parking space and electricity collectively.
Philippe Op de Beeck, CEO of APCOA, said: “We are delighted to have found Innogy as a strategic partner with whom we can play a major role in the transformation of transport in cities.
“With around 1.5 million parking spaces at approximately 10,000 sites in 13 European countries, we have a solid foundation for interlinking parking facilities and sustainable urban mobility.”
Over the last decade Innogy has installed more than 34,000 charging points at customer premises in Europe, the USA and Canada. The project is expected to expand this infrastructure.
Hildegard Müller, director of grid and infrastructure at Innogy, said: “Car parks play an important role in the energy transition in cities as well as in the expansion of electric mobility and the public charging network.
“With photovoltaics on roofs and façades, battery storage and intelligent energy management systems, the car park of the future has the potential to become an energy centre.
“There is also the option of using car parks as locations with digital infrastructure. With the project, we are taking a look at the city of the future and showing how digitalising infrastructure and expanding electric mobility could improve people’s quality of life.”
