A glimpse into the not-too-distant future with Station-e’s multi-service kiosks that are helping to power tomorrow’s smart cities. Interested in finding out more? You should be. They’re coming soon to an area near you…

With its multi-service kiosks, Stations-e provides infrastructure to both power and help build tomorrow’s smart city economy.

Stations-e kiosks are electric vehicle charging stations that also act as telecom carriers, providing local inhabitants and businesses with Firmware-over-the-air services, access to high-speed mobile networks and improved mobile coverage.

The Stations-e charging stations consist of a central charger unit with three different types of socket corresponding to the different e-car models, and a
a more imposing looking block. It is this block which is the great novelty and can be used for four different pillars of growth: energy, connectivity, local services and data collection.

The charging stations are built outside of city centres on either public or private sites, such as parking lots of town halls or garages, that are easily accessible to the public 24/7. This somewhat unusual idea of providing city outskirts, towns and villages with telecom carrying electric charging stations was first dreamt up by seasoned entrepreneur, Alain Rolland, three years ago in 2018.

Alain saw the need of a new business model in order to address what he saw as a gap between the rapid progression of new technologies and the rate at which the infrastructure needed to support them was being developed. And for an entrepreneur, where there is a gap, there is opportunity. For Stations-e, there is also a mission.

For Alain and his 15 person team, building and deploying this new multi-purpose infrastructure is a way, not only of helping to combat climate change by making the switch to electric vehicles easier and more convenient, but also of helping local economies to develop.

High-speed mobile networks allow local habitants to work locally, encouraging entrepreneurship. The stations are also docking and sharing points meaning they can be used by businesses to provide local services. And startups will be able to use them to relay new smart-city solutions as their technology can be incorporated into the charging stations, rather like adding an application to a smartphone. Alain and the Stations-e team hope that by supporting and encouraging local economic activity their charging stations will also help to create jobs.

Why Stations-e?

Alain’s business model reflects his environmentally and socially responsible approach. Stations-e, is backed by Breega and France’s regional bank, la Banque des Territoires, and also relies on partnerships with large industrial actors. This means that charging stations are pre-financed, so local authorities don’t have to budget for them or publish calls for tenders. The stations and their associated services can be put in place quickly and easily.

Alain say’s: 

“Our “ready-to-go” approach is a big plus for local authorities who are looking for a quick way to stimulate growth and boost the local economy”

Stations-e are looking to create 200 charging stations by year-end and 1200 by the end of 2022. Their goal? Build over 10 000 charging stations in France over the next few years and deploy new networks all over Europe through master franchises.

Breega is very much looking forward to helping them develop. Breega’s Co-Founding Partner, François Paulus, tells us:

“Stations-e has a real desire to meet the ecological and societal demands of our time. By combining electric charging stations – easing the transition to electric vehicles – and the infrastructure needed to support tomorrow’s smart cities, they are literally helping to build the future. And they’re doing it with a flexible and viable model that doesn’t weigh on public finances. We’re proud to be backing them”.

Why Breega?

If Alain chose Breega to help him in his infrastructure building mission it was because, just like his charging stations, he sees Breega’s entrepreneurial approach as being both tangible and constructive: 

“François Paulus has a lot of experience in this area. He is someone who listens and shares”.

He goes on to add:

“I was looking for an active investor that understands what we do and why it’s important. We wanted a VC who would work with us, get involved. Breega’s problem-solving approach, their business advice and their recruitment support also helps us save time and money”.

2021 is going to be busy for Alain and his team. They’re looking to cover as much ground as possible by convincing more of France’s regions and industry leaders to follow the example of the Grand Est and build partnerships that will make their electric innovation-encouraging charging stations rapidly accessible to all. We don’t know about you but we’re looking forward to plugging in 🙂 !

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