State-owned HEP Group introduced chargers for electric vehicles in the city of Osijek in eastern Croatia. The investment is worth HRK 110,000 (EUR 14,570). ELEN brand stations installed in two locations were the result of a cooperation agreement between the utility and the municipal authority. Two cars can simultaneously charge batteries at each station, and the technology applied is AC mode 3 type 2, which enables completion of the process in three to four hours, HEP said. For now, usage is free with a radio frequency identification card. The development phase includes testing the technology and tracking users’ habits with the aim to prepare the tariff model and then to switch to the commercial phase. HEP estimated there are about ten electric cars in the city.
The 22 kW station installed outside Elektroslavonija distribution headquarters is powered by a 30 kW solar power plant located on the roof. HEP mounted nine such facilities on its buildings last year.
The national electricity company now has nine public charging units in Osijek, Labin, Vukovar and Koprivnica, in addition to its station at Zagreb headquarters with six wallbox chargers. There are eight parking places equipped there, for its 22 electric vehicles. HEP plans to install 20 more public stations by the end of the year and another 350 by 2020.
