Press kit. Launch of the Infini Drive project. Future investments for the development of the electric vehicle. Paris, Thursday 20 September 2012

Transcription

1 Press kit Launch of the Infini Drive project Paris, Thursday 20 September 2012 Future investments for the development

2 Contents 1. Press release: pages 3 to 5 2. Editorials: page 6 3. Procedure for the Infini Drive project: page 7 4. The consortium's partners: pages 8 to 12 Page 2 of 12

3 Press release European Mobility Week from 17 to 23 September 2012 Electric vehicles Paris, Thursday 20 September 2012 Launch of "INFINI DRIVE" project trials to design a recharge system for electric vehicle fleets Infini Drive is an R&D project aimed at designing the recharge system for new electric vehicle fleets belonging to La Poste group and ERDF. On the occasion of European Mobility Week, the project led by a consortium of eight partners is now being launched in four cities (Paris, Nice, Nantes and Grenoble). The aim is to assist creation of a recharging "standard" for fleets operated by companies and public authorities, thereby fostering the development and roll-out of electric vehicles. Costing around 9.1 million, this project will benefit from 3.5 million in funding from the Future Investments programme run by the ADEME on behalf of the state. A multidisciplinary consortium with a high level of expertise To successfully conduct this R&D project, a consortium was created bringing together experts from the industrial and service sectors, the academic world and research. This top-ranking, multidisciplinary team set itself the objective of adopting a pragmatic and open-ended approach in designing a system for managing recharging infrastructures permitting the economically viable and ecologically sustainable deployment of electric vehicle fleets. As public service companies heavily committed to sustainable development, La Poste group and ERDF initiated this general interest project. The La Poste group will contribute its experience in the field of the sustainable management of fleets and carbon-free vehicles. For its part, ERDF will contribute its expertise in terms of managing the electricity distribution network which it is continually adapting and upgrading in the face of new challenges such as the development of the electric vehicle. Page 3 of 12

4 Already behind the initiative for a group order of electric vehicles which in 2011 led to an initial record order of 18,711 vehicles for several companies (including 10,000 to meet its own requirements), the La Poste group is going one step further by actively participating in the "ecosystem" design for its range of electric vehicles. The development of electric mobility requires the adaptation of electricity networks. Therefore, ERDF as the operator of electricity distribution networks for 95% of mainland France came forward as the natural partner for this project aimed at optimising the connection of recharging terminals and managing them in order to avoid expensive electricity consumption peaks which release CO 2. Moreover, ERDF owns a sizeable fleet of vehicles (25,000 units of which 1,500 to 2,500 electric as stipulated in the purchasing group framework). In addition to the experience of the La Poste group and ERDF, the consortium will benefit from the expertise of Greenovia and DOCAPOST BPO (Extelia), two subsidiaries of the La Poste group, respectively specialised in consultancy and solutions for sustainable mobility and in data management. ERDF will call on the laboratories of EDF R&D for design of recharging power management. A young, innovative company, G 2 Mobility, will produce a prototype of the management system. This consortium also brings together three research laboratories. LORIA-UMR (Mines de Nancy) will determine uses related to the activities of different sectors and the CMA (Applied Mathematics Centre - ARMINES) will study the management mathematical model. The I3M Laboratory at the Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis and the Université du Sud Toulon Var offers its expert input on communicating on change caused by the arrival of electric vehicles. This consortium, coordinated by the Greenovia Company, will actively consult other companies concerned by this project An ambitious project based on local trials. Two million electric vehicles could be on the roads in France by If each user is to be able to recharge their vehicle anywhere, at any time and in complete safety, then the standardisation of recharge systems is a key prerequisite. The objective of the Infini Drive consortium is precisely to develop a recharge system standard for a viable industrial offering. User requirements and practices are at the heart of this R&D project which associates ERDF and La Poste employees with the trials to which they are key contributors. Trials will be held at ERDF and La Poste sites spread between cities presenting different characteristics, namely Grenoble, Nantes, Nice and Paris. Page 4 of 12

5 At the end of the Infini Drive project a "Green paper on recharge infrastructures for captive fleets" will be published along the lines of the green paper for public recharge infrastructures. Its aim is to serve as a reference for companies and public authorities seeking to acquire electric vehicles and appropriate recharge systems For more details of the Infini Drive project, come and meet us during European Mobility Week During European Mobility Week, press conferences will be organised in the four cities hosting the trial sites. This represents an opportunity to present the project and provide a concrete illustration of the recharge systems put in place. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to attend a conference. Monday 17 September in Nice Tuesday 18 September in Nantes Wednesday 19 September in Grenoble Thursday 20 September in Paris For more information on European Mobility Week: durable.gouv.fr/-la-semaine-europeenne-de-la- Commentaire [MC1]: NdT : lien à compléter semble-t-il Press contacts ERDF press office Alizée Gervais alizee.gervais@erdfdistribution.fr +33 (0) La Poste press office David Drujon david2.drujon@laposte.fr +33 (0) Page 5 of 12

6 Editorials Future investments for the development "Infini Drive is an opportunity for ERDF which dovetails seamlessly with the cooperation agreement signed with La Poste on 10 December It is both a committed undertaking to an initiative which underpins ERDF's environmental policy and a means of demonstrating that smart solutions enable recharging of all vehicles while retaining good quality electricity distribution. By bringing together French start-ups, the academic world and two major public service companies, La Poste and ERDF, I am convinced that all of the conditions are in place to make a genuine success of this project and help propose recharging solutions which will supplement the Green paper on public recharging infrastructures for "carbon-free" vehicles established in I therefore give my full backing to this initiative which should make it possible to find a new place for the electric vehicle on the company car market thereby contributing to the switch to a carbon-free economy at a time when the debate on energy transition is in full flow. I offer my sincere thanks to the four regions which have signed up to this R&D project and count on ERDF's long-standing culture of innovation to take it forward." Michèle Bellon, President of the ERDF Executive Board "By ordering no fewer than 10,000 electric vehicles last year, the La Poste group confirmed its keen and abiding interest in this sustainable mobility solution. In fact, this order undoubtedly helped boost the industrial sector by paving the way for its emergence. With Infini Drive we now have the opportunity to go further still. By joining forces with ERDF and combining a total of eight experts from industry, services, academia and research, we have the opportunity and the determination to define the recharging infrastructure model which will become the future benchmark, the standard for public and private players having deployed an electric vehicle fleet. We want this model to be smart, efficient and perfectly in line with modernisation of the networks and the environmental challenges. Our partnership with ERDF, the company with which we already signed a cooperation agreement last December, is therefore entirely logical. This project will be coordinated by Greenovia, our subsidiary with expertise in transport solutions and eco-responsible mobility. Once again, the La Poste group is extremely proud to have actively participated in the development of technologies related to electric vehicles and I would like to thank all of the partners who have agreed to join us on this project." Jean-Paul Bailly, Chief Executive Officer of the La Poste Group Page 6 of 12

7 Procedure for the Infini Drive Project Future investments for the development ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT AND OPTIMISATION ERDF ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATION ARMINES PARISTECH DOCAPOST BPO ERDF G² MOBILITY GREENOVIA I3M LA POSTE LORIA DESIGN OF SMART RECHARGE TERMINALS G² MOBILITY SUPPORTING USERS AND RAISING AWARENESS LA POSTE ERDF Selected by Ademe in the context of the Future Investments programme, Infini Drive is a research and development project aimed at designing a standard recharge system for electric vehicle fleets operated by companies and public authorities. The "Infini Drive" project brings together a multi-disciplinary team of experts. COORDINATION GREENOVIA ANALYSIS AND OPTIMISATION OF DATA AND FLOWS DOCAPOST BPO ARMINES PARISTECH GREENOVIA LORIA CHANGE MANAGEMENT LA POSTE I3M SMART MANAGEMENT OF FLEETS LA POSTE ERDF GREENOVIA - LORIA Page 7 of 12

8 THE CONSORTIUM'S PARTNERS THE LA POSTE GROUP A société anonyme (limited company) in full public ownership since 1 March 2010, La Poste is an original model of a multi-sector group structured around four activities: mail, parcels-express, banking and the La Poste retail brand. Every year, the 17,000 La Poste branches welcome 45 million private customers and 3.5 million corporate ones. La Poste s industrial apparatus allows it to process and route 26 billion items annually. In 2011, the La Poste group boasted a turnover of 21.3 billion. After overseeing the grouping of electric vehicle orders which kick-started the market in France, and after supervising the working group on "trials of recharging infrastructures for carbon-free vehicles" at the government's request, the La Poste group is now pushing ahead with its commitment to sustainable mobility by offering this project the full benefit of its experience in the field of sustainable fleet management. With over 10,000 electric vehicles which will be deployed between 2012 and 2015 and a full range of electric vehicles already deployed (280 cars, 210 quad bikes and 10,000 electrically assisted bicycles), La Poste will provide this project with a representative experimentation field which will enable the design of those infrastructures which are the most efficient in terms of use and the most viable from an economic and ecological viewpoint. Page 8 of 12

9 ERDF ERDF Electricité Réseau Distribution France - created on 1 January 2008 is the administrator of the electricity distribution network covering 95% of mainland France. With its workforce of 35,000, the company ensures the operation, development and maintenance of 1.3 million kms of electric lines at the service of 35 million customers. In this role, it performs numerous interventions on this network such as connections, entries into service, emergency repairs and change of supplier. Electricity distributor and fleet user for these 35,000 employees, ERDF manages and maintains the electricity distribution network. In the context of its public service mission, the company connects up the recharge infrastructures of electric vehicles. Its expertise will make it possible to establish a "standard" model for managing them in line with the upgrading of networks and environmental challenges. Moreover, ERDF has over 25,000 company vehicles of which 1,500 to 2,500 will soon be electric. GREENOVIA GREENOVIA, a La Poste subsidiary, offers study and consultancy services to help public and private players define a strategy for implementing sustainable mobility solutions. Greenovia offers its expertise for innovative projects covering mobility and transport, deployment and management of vehicle fleets, and management of new mobility services. Coordinator of the Infini Drive project, Greenovia ensures effective interaction between the different inputs and partners. Greenovia provides its innovative project management methods and know-how concerning transport and mobility by conducting studies into the data ecosystem and carbon footprint. Greenovia will draft a project summary entitled "Green paper on recharging infrastructures for captive fleets". Page 9 of 12

10 Mines de Nancy / LORIA The Computer Research and Applications Laboratory in Lorraine, LORIA- UMR7503, is a joint research project at CNRS, at the INRIA and the Université de Lorraine. The LORIA is reputed as a flagship laboratory in the field of computing, with a solid national and international reputation. For the laboratory, the Infini Drive project represents an opportunity for the emergence of new scientific challenges related to recharging and operating electric vehicles. The LORIA will contribute to the Infini Drive project through the design of electric vehicle use optimisation models and the development of decision-support tools for the planning and management of vehicle charging with the factoring in of sector-specific constraints. In particular, the laboratory has supported the La Poste group for 3 years with modelling of production activities either as processing centres or as mail distribution platforms. It has demonstrated its expertise in optimising processing procedures and mail delivery routes, as well as stratification of distribution establishments. G² Mobility G²mobility, a SME created in 2009, designs innovative infrastructure solutions allowing companies and public authorities to introduce electric vehicles into the landscape for new types of mobility while factoring in dimensions concerning use, energy optimisation and the environment. On the Infini Drive project, G²mobility will contribute its skills and R&D capacities in the fields of onboard electronics, telecommunications and development of advanced information systems. Page 10 of 12

11 DOCAPOST BPO DOCAPOST BPO is the division dedicated to outsourced management of processes and customer relations. DOCAPOST BPO boasts expertise in interoperable systems involving a large number of players with heterogeneous information systems. DOCAPOST BPO will ensure interoperability of the information systems within the Infini Drive project. To this end, DOCAPOST BPO will develop the necessary interfaces in liaison with the partners concerned. Particular attention will be paid to the architecture to ensure easy intermediation between information systems while ensuring decoupling when necessary to avoid critical incidents spreading between them. In this respect, DOCAPOST BPO will bring the information technology aspect to the project and ensure implementation of a data flow management platform between the different partners and systems deployed (vehicles, smart boxes, ERDF information network, etc.). Furthermore, DOCAPOST BPO will develop interfaces for management of electric vehicles: Management of the fleet, economic and ecological assessment, operational monitoring. The I3M Laboratory "Information, milieux, media, mediation" The I3M Laboratory is an information and communication science laboratory at the Université de Nice - Sophia Antipolis and the Université du Sud - Toulon - Var. Its aim is to ensure a collective review of technical, social and cultural changes, human interactions and man-machine interactions, based on studies of concrete objects, on the micro social scale. Socio-technical communication procedures are therefore central to its project, particularly those which are in keeping with the socio-ecological transition policies of companies and regional authorities. Commentaire [MC2]: NdT : on parle de " milieux " en anglais dans certains contextes. Ici, on peut se permettre de le garder The I3M Laboratory brings an original and complementary dimension to the Infini Drive project i.e. the socio-cultural aspect and, naturally, elements related to information and communication of practices. It will question the relevance and efficiency, both collective and individual, of procedures to assist change which are able to foster the social acceptance of innovations and new behaviours among user employees required by the pro-environmental technological changes of the vehicle of the future tested by the other partners. Page 11 of 12

12 ARMINES - CMA Future investments for the development ARMINES is an SRC (contract research organisation) with the status of an association under the law of 1901 (non-profit-making) created at the initiative of the French ministry of industry. The ARMINES research centre involved in this Infini Drive project is the CMA (Applied Mathematics Centre) at MINES-ParisTech. It contributes its expertise in terms of optimisation via the definition of algorithms as part of a public-private partnership whose interactions will foster the emergence of an enhanced scientific vision of the carbon impact of recharging policies for electric vehicles in a captive fleet. ADEME The ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency) participates in the setting up of public policies in the fields of the environment, energy and sustainable development. It places its expertise and consultancy capacities at the disposal of companies, local authorities, public authorities and the general public to enable them to progress in their environmental strategy. The agency also helps fund projects, from research through to implementation, in the following fields: management of waste, soil preservation, energy efficiency and renewable energies, air quality and combating noise pollution. The ADEME is a public establishment under the joint supervision of the ministry of ecology, sustainable development and energy and the ministry of higher education and research. Page 12 of 12