Vodafone's subsidiary, Vantage Towers Magyarország Zrt., in cooperation with Elektromotive Hungária Kft., will first install around 60 electric charging stations at 38 base stations throughout the country in the next one year - J. Gergő Budai, president and CEO of Vantage Towers announced at a press conference on Friday in Etyek, where it was presented the charger installed to the base station.
Károly Balázs Solymár, the deputy state secretary responsible for digitalization at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (ITM), emphasized: with this unique, climate-neutral and forward-looking solution, the tower company contributes significantly to Hungary's electric car interoperability and the support of green electromobility.
The electric car chargers will be installed by a large company with its partner that has found a valuable opportunity for cooperation between e-mobility, sustainable transport, and the service of its own telecommunications base station, he underlined.
"In this investment, both the climate policy and technological goals appear," he said.
Unnecessary parallelism can be avoided at the infrastructure level, since the same station can be used by several telecommunications providers, this in itself points in the direction of climate neutrality, he said.
He pointed out: the government welcomes and supports those solutions that reduce the environmental load through innovation and digitization and strengthen sustainable development. According to their hopes, other companies will also examine what useful solutions and cooperation they can create by expanding their existing services.
In response to MTI's question, J. Gergő Budai said: the value of the investment is roughly HUF 800 million, and according to their calculations, it will pay for itself in 6-7 years. Electric car chargers are based on the power supply of base stations, and since the necessary power demand is covered 100 percent from renewable energy sources, they contribute doubly to the realization of true green driving.
They hope that this will continue in several stages.
Vantage Towers is constantly looking for ways to utilize its telecommunication base stations for other purposes. Their goal is to operate multifunctional base stations that can be operated more cost-effectively and sustainably based on the ecosystem of base stations, he explained.
He said: 2x22 kilowatt AC chargers and 180 kilowatt DC lightning chargers are being installed. AC chargers will also be suitable for servicing plug-in hybrids and electric cars. Lightning chargers suitable for charging electric cars and buses are placed in places where it is important to get enough charge for a significant range in a short time (roadside rest areas, gas stations).
They hope that the project, which will be the first to be realized in Hungary, will greatly contribute to the spread of electric cars in Hungary. Among their medium-term plans is the expansion of the program to other countries - said J. Gergő Budai.
János Mátyásfalvi, the managing director of Elektromotive Hungaria Kft., said: from the beginning, they participated in the installation of hundreds of home and public charging stations in Hungary. They won the contract for the construction and operation of the complex charging system in a multi-round tender. One of the central elements of the system is the InfoCharger, which is their own development, he said.
Péter Vári, Deputy Director General of the National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH), congratulated the project and called it a special pleasure that the base stations and chargers operate with renewable energy.
Tamás Zólyomi, the mayor of Etyek, said that Etyek will support the cooperation of the companies and the success of the project in everything.
Vantage Towers, based in Düsseldorf, has around 82,000 macro stations in 10 European countries. Founded in 2020, the company's portfolio includes towers, antennas, indoor base stations (DAS) and small cells. By building, operating and leasing this passive infrastructure for Vodafone and other network operators, the company contributes to the efficient and sustainable digitization of Europe. Vantage Towers Hungary is headquartered in Budapest, the company has the 2nd largest market share in Hungary with more than 2,000 stations.
(Source: autokalauz.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)