Marriott opens first charging station in BiH

The premiere charging unit for electric cars in Bosnia and Herzegovina was opened at hotel Residence Inn Marriott on September 29. The charger is available for hotel guests only.

The station has two type 2 mode 3 connectors for batteries, in line with 2014/94/EU directive on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, and IEC 62196-2 international standard for a set of electrical connectors for electric vehicles maintained by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

Mode 3 is an active connection to fixed electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), either 250 V 1-phase or 480 V 3-phase including earth and control pilot. Either with a compulsorily captive cable with extra conductors, at a maximum current of 250 A, or in a manner compatible with mode 2 with an optionally captive cable at a maximum current of 32 A. The charging supply is not active by default, and requires proper communication over the control pilot to enable. In mode 3, the communication wire between car electronics and the charging station allows integration into smart grids.

Type 2 represents a single and three-phase vehicle coupler (reflecting the VDE-AR-E 2623-2-2 plug specifications).

As explained, electric vehicles are able to drive from Sarajevo to Tuzla, 140 kilometres, using electric power worth just BAM 1 (EUR 0,51). The project was developed in cooperation with public utility Elektroprivreda BiH and the Municipality of Centar Sarajevo, which provided support.

“There is still no initiative for building the network of charging station for electric cars in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but our EU membership application gives us motivation for adopting electric vehicles,” said Čedomir Lukić, cantonal minister responsible for spatial planning, construction, and the environment.