TENDERING: Bids invited to supply 10 electric vehicle charging stations

Public road management company Putevi Srbije has launched tendering for the supply of 10 electric vehicle charging stations. Bidders are invited to supply offers to deliver, install, and commission fast-charging stations at toll plazas.

According to the tendering documentation, 2 EV charging stations each are planned to be installed at the Niš, Šimanovci, Pojate, Doljevac, and Stara Pazova toll plazas.

The estimated value of the public procurement is up to RSD 50 million (about EUR 420,000), not including VAT. An offer will be considered timely if received by 12:30 PM on April 17, 2019.

The tendering documentation also states that the installation of smart shelters at the EV charging stations needs to be envisaged. The smart shelters will have integrated lighting, a Wi-Fi router, and polycrystalline photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, each with a power output of at least 270 W and a minimum efficiency rate of 16.5%.

Meanwhile, Serbian Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure Minister Zorana Mihajlović has said at the International Motor Show in Belgrade that the 10 new EV charging stations will be installed by June 1, according to reports.

The Serbian government will also consider introducing subsidies for the purchase of hybrid and electric cars, Mihajlović said, noting that out of a total of some 2.5 million registered cars in Serbia, fewer than 200 are electric cars and slightly over 200 are hybrid cars.

For his part, Minister of Environmental Protection Goran Trivan has said that the ministry and the government are considering a ban on imports of cars fitted with the most polluting Euro 3 and 4 engines and automobiles older than 10 years from 2020.

Serbia needs an estimated 150 EV charging stations

Serbia needs an estimated 150 EV charging stations, Miloš Petrović, director of the Center for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles (CEH-V), set up in cooperation with the University of Belgrade Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, said earlier.

The country currently has only about 30 EV charging stations, five of which are fast-charging stations along the highway routes, which can service up to three vehicles at a time, according to the center’s data.

According to Petrović, the goal is to install renewable energy-powered chargers rather than EV charging stations supplied with electricity generated by coal-fired power plants.

Recharging an electric vehicle is currently free at EV charging stations in Serbia, but preparations are under way to introduce payments, which will require registering vendors as electricity sale entities and securing collection software.