Acciona and Cepsa join forces to promote a network of battery exchangers

ACCIONA and Cepsa have reached an agreement to carry out a pilot test to develop a network of battery exchangers at Cepsa service stations for the electric vehicles manufactured by Silence, a subsidiary of the ACCIONA Group.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
17 November 2022 Thursday 13:40
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Acciona and Cepsa join forces to promote a network of battery exchangers

ACCIONA and Cepsa have reached an agreement to carry out a pilot test to develop a network of battery exchangers at Cepsa service stations for the electric vehicles manufactured by Silence, a subsidiary of the ACCIONA Group.

The first initiative of the joint project is already underway in Barcelona (C/ Comte d'Urgell, 219). The plan contemplates the initial development of ten interchanges in as many Cepsa stations, five in the Catalan capital and another five in Madrid, in the coming months.

Carlos Sotelo, CEO of Silence, has assured that the objective is to "launch a wide battery exchange service network throughout the country to accelerate decarbonization and reinforce our leadership in the 100% renewable electric mobility sector". With this pilot, users will have "a battery exchange station less than 10 minutes away in both cities."

For her part, Cepsa's director of New Mobility, Isabel Gorgoso, pointed out that, with this alliance, "we will begin to offer micromobility services at our service stations: one more solution within the different sustainable mobility alternatives that we offer available to our clients".

Silence uses a removable battery system in its electric motorcycles that allows the user to leave the discharged unit at a swap station, get another with a 100% charge and continue their journey, through a very quick replacement operation that takes just one minute. duration, which makes this charging system the fastest on the market.

When the driver detects a low charge level, he can locate the nearest exchanger through the Silence Battery Station application and reserve a battery, exchanging it for a fully charged one.

Silence batteries are also used by Seat Mó electric scooters -manufactured by the Acciona subsidiary- and Acciona's urban mobility service units. These same batteries will be part of the equipment of the new two-seater car from Silence, the S04. Likewise, the service is open to any other brand that, in the future, wants to join the exchange system.

To use the charging stations, Silence offers the option of buying the motorcycle without a battery, which reduces its price by 40%, and contracting a monthly subscription. In addition to lowering the purchase price, this method also saves the user from having to take care of battery maintenance, since Silence ensures that they are always in perfect condition in their exchangers.

Cepsa, as part of its commitment to sustainable mobility, is developing the largest ultra-fast road charging network on the Peninsula, which will reach a minimum ratio of a 150 kilowatt (kW) charger every 200 kilometers on the main highways and interurban roads.

In addition, in this decade, it will boost the demand for green hydrogen in road transport, through the installation of refueling stations in the corridors that connect Spain with Europe.