Developing Poland's electromobility sector is a challenge but also a huge opportunity

Michał Kurtyka, Poland’s deputy minister of energy, recently presented Poland’s Electromobility Development Plan. He spoke of the challenges faced in developing electric transport but also of the huge opportunity to create a new and competitive market, as reported by Euractiv.  

The Plan, which was adopted by the Polish Council of Ministers in 2017, sets out the benefits associated with the widespread use of electric vehicles in Poland and identifies the economic and industrial potential. It has three main goals:

1. Enable an environment to develop electromobility in Poland
2. Develop industry that will support this new sector
3. Ensure a secure energy supply and stabilise the network operation

PSE SA is responsible for the Polish power system and therefore they are focused on the issues around the third goal. They have carried out an analysis of the impact of developing electromobility on the demand for power and electricity.

The results of the analysis showed that scenarios of electromobility infrastructure development do not threaten the Polish electricity system when compared to the typical yearly demand for power and electricity. However, the study does indicate a possible need to introduce price mechanisms should the number of electric cars increase significantly.

The Plan also defines a three-stage roadmap for the development of the electromobility market.

The first phase will run until the end of 2018 and act as a period of preparation and research. During this time, the necessary legal regulations will be created and research projects will be supported. For example, ElectroMobility Poland was established with the aim of developing the concept of an urban electric car and to promote the development of an electromobility system in Poland. In 2017, they ran a competition to identify five future electric vehicle concepts to be the basis for the production of prototypes.

The second phase of the Plan runs from 2019 to 2020 and will involve the construction of the supporting infrastructure. Incentives for the purchase of electric cars will also be increased for individuals and companies. The third phase will take place between 2020-2025, during which time public support instruments will be gradually withdrawn from the developing electromobility market. 

For more information about Poland’s Electromobility Development Plan click here, and to find out more about ElectroMobility Poland and their competition, click here.

Photo: © Shutterstock

Source: story first published by Euractiv on 23/04/2018

Link to full story: Euractiv