Charging electric cars on the public network is breaking records

© Andre Mendez/Razao Automovil

There are more and more electric cars circulating on Portuguese roads, so, as expected, the number of shipments has broken records in the ever-expanding charging network. And of course the associated electricity consumption is on the rise.

This is what we can see in the latest data provided by Mobi.e, the public network of charging stations, which set a new usage record last July.

In July 2023, Mobi.e recorded a total of 378,669 additional shipments, up 63% from the same month last year. Since the beginning of the year, the number of shipments has exceeded 2.3 million, which translates to an increase of 68%.

More charging, more electricity consumed

All of this translates to an expected higher energy consumption. In July alone, the implemented charges accounted for a total consumption of 6,348,476 kWhan increase of 83% from July 2022.

The expansion of the network of charging stations has also contributed to these increasing numbers. Mobi.e ended July with a total of 4,809 posts, 3,673 of which are publicly available.

Of this total, 36% are really fast or even super fast charging stations. Mobi.e’s network power currently exceeds 206,528 kW, which represents a growth of 44% compared to last year.

The company also reports that there are currently 50 outlets, on average, for every 100km of motorway. Which also translates to about 68 available outlets per 100,000 inhabitants on the national territory.

Users and the environment

The Mobi.e network has 119,226 users since the beginning of this year, up 59% from last year. That is, on average, each user of this network has made 19 recharges since the first day of this year.

If electricity consumption is increasing and breaking records, on the other hand, Mobi.e indicates the saving of 28,314 tons of carbon dioxide_two in the first seven months of the year.

To retain the same amount of CO2, the company says, “it would take more than 467,000 10-year-old trees in an urban setting.”