The road to Greece and Cyprus is opening the way for the faster development of electric vehicle charging infrastructures, the signing of a financial agreement between it opens up European Investment Bank (EIB) and Joltie, a purely Greek service company electric.
The signatures were entered today during a special event/discussion organized in the 89th Thessaloniki International Exhibition (TIF). The Vice President of the Foundation, Yiannis Tsakiris, and Joltie, the company’s chief executive, George Pechlivanoglou, attended the EIB. The discussion, co -ordinated by journalist Yiannis Georgiou, was also attended by Alexis Komninos, Managing Partner of the Green Horizon Ventures investment capital, as the fund has already expressed its intention to participate in the Joltie program.
“Today’s investment with Joltie, although small for the bank’s data, we consider to be emblematic, especially for Greece and the part of electricity, because it will help to create larger charging infrastructure and thereby believe and expect that the EU share in Greece will increase significantly. We are relatively low, ”said Yiannis Tsakiris Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), in his statements after the event was completed and the signing of the contract.
In turn, Joltie’s chief executive George Pechlivanoglou said: “Today’s signing of the financial agreement with the EIB opens a new page for Joltie, but also opens up new horizons for electricity overall in Greece. In essence, it is the confirmation of our efforts to offer vertical solutions, with Greek production, to the Greek economy.
On behalf of the Green Horizon Ventures investment capital, Managing Partner Alexis Komninos said: “We are a fund that invests exclusively in the green and circular economy. We believe this will be an investment of particularly high value. We are investing in a vertical and Greek company, which can play a decisive role in converging car electricity in Greece compared to the rest of Europe. Joltie is the right company to achieve this, as it not only produces in Greece, but also specializes in this subject, so it does so well and studied and in -depth knowledge of the market. “
In the discussion that preceded the signing of the Agreement and the statements, Mr Tsakiris was asked where Greece is in the European ranking regarding the financing of projects by the EIB for green transition.
Giannis Tsakiris
Mr Tsakiris said that “EIB funding is about 100 billion euros a year, with the largest part of them going towards energy and climate change. Greece is an important destination for bank funding. In recent years, € 18 billion has exceeded 18 billion euros in energy and climate change. We continue and will continue more intensely, especially in southern Europe where climate change seems more intense, “the speaker said, adding:” And this funding to Joltie is just within this context. Funding of 17.5m euros will help Joltie expand the charger network to over 2000 points over the next three years. The green transition must be fair and in practice, and this is an component of this funding. ” […] “The more chargers, the fewer areas excluded from electric drive.”
Referring to the reasons that the EIB approved to fund Joltie, Mr Tsakiris said, among other things, that “that Joltie was chosen because she is a rapidly growing company, has a vertical production and is one of the companies, which in addition to the green transition, helps the EU’s overall competitiveness”.
Alexis Komninos
Asked what was in the case of Joltie what caused the interest of the investment capital Green Horizon Ventures Fund, Mr Komninos said, among other things: “The average electric cars in Europe is over 45%, while in Greece it is just over 20%. So there is a huge opportunity for convergence, which, without any doubt, will sooner or later be achieved. We are a new fund, specially specialized in investing exclusively in green energy and climate change. “
Mr Komninos also pointed out the fact that “Joltie is a completely vertical company and even Greek, and this gives her a great advantage, as she has the potential for fast decisions. The company can carry its chargers quickly from one point to another, can re -regulate or change their use in a very short time, it can add services to them very quickly and flexible, which a producer who uses imported materials will need much longer time to achieve. “
George Pechlivanoglou: New Page for Joltie
“For Joltie now a new page opens. Support, recognition and evaluation by the EIB is a very important recognition for us. It is the crowning of a lot of hard work. We will bring Greek and European technology to electricity, not only in Greece but also to Cyprus, and we also look at the Balkans. I believe we can prove that in Greece we are able to make reliable materials. I think we can also put our stone in order to be able to spread all the financial strata, “said Joltie’s chief executive George Pechlivanoglou.
Asked about the need for the ever and faster charging of cars, Mr Pechlivanoglou said, among other things, that “the ideal charger depends every time what the vehicle we want to charge. That is why we analyze every charge point and look for what is the ideal charging speed for the use we want. You see, there is a different need at a charging station at a restaurant, where we can sit for an hour, and different when visiting a refueling station on the highway for 15 minutes. “
Regarding the cost of charging, Mr. Pechlivanoglou said: “It is very important for us to be able to offer financial charging. This is because we want the electric drive to enter all the economic strata of society, it must be economic. “
In addition to the contribution of electricity to the green transition, Mr Pechlivanoglou also referred to another dimension he may have, and this concerns the stabilization of the load on electricity transport networks. As he said, “the electric vehicle is a consumer and can assist it, charging its batteries at noon when electricity is overproduced.”
Concluding the debate, the coordinator Yiannis Georgiou said that the agreement that was signed today has many dimensions, reinforces the role of the EIB in Greek society as a European lever for the green transition. It is proof of recognition of Joltie’s operational capabilities at European level and raises electricity to Greece on a larger “track”. In addition, it facilitates, supports and encourages the adoption of electricity, thereby contributing substantially to the green transition. “