GE, Endesa bring electric vehicles, charging stations to Spain

Airports operator AENA is going electric for some of its fleet of airside vehicles and has awarded a contract to GE Energy and Spanish energy supplier Endesa to supply and operate the vehicle charging infrastructures.

GE Energy’s Industrial Solutions business will provide 53 of its DuraStation electric vehicle chargers to AENA airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Palma and Lanzarote.

The DuraStations enable faster charging by integrating higher voltages and currents that require specialized equipment and connectors. They will be incorporated into the airports’ energy management infrastructure and vehicles will be charged on off-peak overnight electricity tariffs.

The three-year pilot program will enable AENA to assess the feasibility of replacing its entire fleet of airport vehicles with electric alternatives. It is hoped that electric vehicles will also eventually be adopted by other companies operating at the airports.

In addition to a growing range of electric vehicle charging stations, GE Energy provides the full range of electrical systems and smart grid technology necessary to develop and manage a complete electric vehicle infrastructure.

It is estimated that every electric vehicle that comes on to the roads will require 1.5 chargers; in Europe alone electric vehicle sales are expected to reach half a million per year by 2015.

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