Posted at 11:30 a.m.
Going on vacation in an electric car is possible: a 900 km journey between France and Belgium shows that the charging stations are there, but that it is imperative to prepare your journey to avoid running out of fuel, both the network remains embryonic compared to traditional service stations.
The trip made by an AFP team illustrates the titanic financial and industrial challenge that Europe is facing when it wants to ban the sale of petrol or diesel vehicles within 13 years.
PHOTO STÉPHANE MAHÉ, ARCHIVES REUTERS
Renault Captur hybrid charging
From Paris, no problem in traffic jams in the Paris area: the battery can last for hours at this rate. But when arriving on the highway, the electric reveals one of its main faults: the autonomy goes from 250 km to less than 100, in much less time than it takes to cover them.
After a first recharge, we arrive with the gauge at zero on the Verdun area, in the Meuse department. For ten euros, the battery is filled to 80%, the remaining 20% being slower.
It is essential to anticipate its route according to the car and the outside temperature, the battery discharging more quickly in winter.
To reach Belgium, it will be necessary to charge four times, for about thirty minutes at each break.
Roaming charging is key in people’s minds to go electric.
Cécile Goubet, from Avere, the organization of electric vehicle professionals
small roads
When you leave the motorway to go to Belgium by means of the departmental roads, consumption drops, like the fear of breakdowns. Many medium-power chargers are available in front of town halls, at dealerships, or in front of supermarkets.
Night falls as Brussels approaches: you now have to find a hotel or accommodation to recharge your batteries, just to leave with 100% autonomy.
The offer is still limited to rather posh hotels or a few Airbnbs.
At the Nazareth rest area, near Ghent, Dutch people, emboldened by the performance of their network of terminals, stop for a first quick charge on their way to France. “The problem is that between Belgium and Spain, there is France,” jokes Frank Berg, 55, who goes to Spain with his wife Olga.
PHOTO ARCHIVE REUTERS
All French motorway service areas must be equipped with a fast charging network by the end of the year.
France late
Compared to the Netherlands or Germany, the French fast charging network is still very incomplete. By decree, all French motorway service areas must be equipped by the end of the year.
Isabelle Inder, 34, is also making the trip to Champagne with her partner Antalaya.
We reload in small bursts each time we stop. It’s not that complicated, and it’s not bad either to take a break every hour and a half. You have to plan your trip, but sometimes the apps aren’t up to date and the terminal doesn’t work.
Isabelle Inder, on her way to Champagne
We have the bitter experience of this on the Lille-Paris motorway: while there are still 60 km to go, a charging station is closed for work, we miss an exit for the next one, and we find ourselves almost at zero on a station… where fast charging does not work.
300,000 slow terminals (+ 30% over one year) and 50,000 fast (+ 30% also) were installed in Europe in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency. Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway and France have notably redoubled their efforts in recent months.
But this increase of 30% over one year remains insufficient in the face of the expected explosion of the electric car market. A network of 6.8 million chargers would be needed by 2030, or an installation of 14,000 chargers per week, to meet the needs, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.