Croatia to get its first fast EV chargers along key transport corridors

Croatia will get 5 fast chargers for electric vehicles (EVs) along the country’s key transport corridors, the A1 and A6 motorways​, by the end of May as part of the NEXT-E project, co-financed by the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). These are the first ever fast EV chargers along Croatia’s motorways connecting the Zagreb – Rijeka route, and the first of many fast chargers that will connect the Zagreb – Split route just before the start of the tourist season.

Fuel retailer Tifon, a member of MOL Group, put a fast EV charger into operation, with the MOL Plugee brand, at its Draganić Sjever service station, the NEXT-E project said on its website.

The company also handed over two other fast chargers at the service stations of Draganić Jug and Ravna Gora, while by the end of May, Tifon will deploy fast chargers at its service stations at Dobra and Jasenice.

The MOL Plugee branded fast chargers at the Tifon service stations support all relevant charging standards (AC and DC), allowing various types of vehicles to charge, taking up to an hour and a half for AC charging and 25 to 35 minutes for DC charging.

Using the EV chargers will be free of charge for the first month after the launch, after which time a normal (AC) charge will cost HRK 54.90 (EUR 7.40), and a fast (DC) charge will cost HRK 74.90 (EUR 10.10) per session.

Tifon is going to be one of the first participants in the Croatian energy market to enter the upcoming tourist season offering unrestricted, much simpler travel via EVs for all tourists, completely fueled by electricity.

“Since the beginning of this year, we have been getting inquiries from customers across Europe about connecting the coast and the mainland with electric vehicle chargers, so we are very proud to be able to offer just that as of today,” said Tifon CEO Siniša Komnenović during the inauguration of the first fast charger at the Draganić Sjever service station.

In July 2017, the European Commission approved co-funding of the NEXT-E project to set up 252 charging stations in six EU Member States in Central Europe, including Croatia, Slovenia, and Romania.