Construction begins on Lithuania's first charging park for electric vehicles

At the end of May, the construction of Lithuania's first dedicated electric vehicle charging park began in Panevėžys district. The project will be developed in stages, considering the overall number of electric vehicles in the country. Ultimately, the park will be able to charge up to 40 electric vehicles simultaneously. Tomas Tamašauskas, head of "Eldrive Lithuania," stated that this charging park will be the first of its kind in Lithuania and the Baltic region, with a total project value exceeding two million euros. The park is expected to start operations by the end of this year.

"Our company and the entire country are taking a significant and important step in developing the electric vehicle charging infrastructure on the main roads of Lithuania. This is a unique project, designed to meet the primary needs of electric vehicle drivers – to charge their vehicles quickly and without queues. We are very pleased with the partners who have joined the project and with the construction starting today," said T. Tamašauskas.

The charging park will cover a total area of 1.5 hectares, including a 318 square meter building that will house "Caffeine" and "Narvesen" cafes, along with rest and work areas and restrooms. By the end of this year, five 200 kW charging stations, each with two charging points, will be installed. By the summer of next year, the first phase of the project will be completed with the addition of five more 400 kW stations, also with two charging points each, bringing the total to 20 charging points. The next phase, dependent on market conditions and the growth of the electric vehicle fleet in the country, will see the installation of 20 more high-power charging points and several charging stations for heavy vehicles and buses.

"Eldrive" plans to open and complete the first phase of the charging park on the Panevėžys bypass by the end of this year. Kęstutis Faktoravičius, head of the developing company "Kenova," said that the project is unique not only in its purpose but also in its technological solutions.

"We are very pleased with this joint project with 'Eldrive.' It is indeed an extraordinary project and structure. It is a challenge for us and the engineers, especially since there will be 20 very fast charging stations requiring a lot of energy. We are looking forward to the results and believe that this is the first of many such parks in our country," said K. Faktoravičius.

One of the main partners in this project is "Reitan Convenience Lithuania," the company that operates the "Caffeine" and "Narvesen" cafe chains in Lithuania and other countries. Saulius Žilėnas, head of the company in Lithuania, said that they were very interested in the concept proposed by "Eldrive" and decided to join the project.

"'Eldrive' approached us with a very intriguing project, which we gladly joined. 'Caffeine' and 'Narvesen' cafes will operate in these charging parks. Our company's goal is to expand not only in cities but also in places like this. Therefore, it will be a great synergy," said S. Žilėnas.

According to the head of "Reitan Convenience Lithuania," the menus of both cafes will be adapted to these locations: "Our customers will also find some new items – we will complement our traditional menu with new snacks. Therefore, we are very much looking forward to the opening of this facility and believe in its success."

Belief in the future of charging parks

T. Tamašauskas mentioned that similar charging parks already exist in Europe, North America, and Asia: "Of course, such places exist worldwide, and their development is progressing quite rapidly. Charging an electric vehicle takes from a few minutes to a little over an hour, so it is natural that there should be facilities for people to spend their time. Especially in Lithuania, where we have cold winters and many cloudy days. We also observe consumer habits that have formed over the last fifteen years. Traditional fuel stations have now become places where people drink coffee or eat. Therefore, we aim to adapt to this trend as well."

T. Tamašauskas emphasized that charging parks are one of the most important development directions for "Eldrive": "The distribution of charging points in Lithuania is very uneven. We have many charging stations in major cities but very few on main roads or in regions. Therefore, we invest heavily and will continue to invest in regions and national highways, as these are particularly important locations for electric vehicle drivers, especially during long journeys when people mostly use public charging stations. Next year, we plan to open several more such charging parks, including on the A1 highway. We plan to establish up to 10 such charging parks across the country."

According to the latest data, there are over 13,000 registered electric vehicles in Lithuania, and it is projected that their number will reach several hundred thousand by 2030. There are currently over 1,000 slow (AC) charging stations and about 300 fast (DC) charging stations in the country. In comparison, in 2022, there were 333 slow and just 55 fast charging stations in total.