Atlante are on a mission to develop the largest fast and ultra-fast charging network in Southern Europe, 100% powered by renewables. They operate over 800 charging stations across France, Spain, Italy and Portugal and intend to add many more!
We sat down with Atlante CEO Stefano Terranova to chat about charging infrastructure, their future plans and all things EV!
Atlante started with a bold vision to shake up electric mobility in Southern Europe. We launched in 2021 with a mission to build a fast and ultra-fast charging network powered entirely by renewable energy. Our goal? To make charging electric vehicles (EVs) easy and efficient, paving the way for a greener future.
As soon as we had put together the first bunch of Atlanters, we got together to define our values. Not surprisingly, we very quickly agreed on four values that truly encapsulate what Atlante is about.
First off, Pure Energy not only for our commitment to 100% green energy charging, but even more for our own positive energy which pushes us every day to serve more conscious drivers across Europe.
The next is Pioneering Innovation because of our strong belief that the “decarbonization revolution” is entirely possible thanks to the huge leaps in technology, which we can and must leverage upon to deliver our mission.
Our next value is Passion for People which reflects the super positive and inclusive vibe we created here in Atlante and that we share constantly with all our customers, partners, and friends: it’s infectious!
And of course, we truly are Sustainable by nature because it’s the core and essence of our mission: “to empower people to move in harmony with the planet”.
Our very first charging site opened in Santa Maria Maggiore, a charming little town in Piedmont, Italy. We faced plenty of problems in getting the first one online, and even the next few ones were an uphill struggle… but hey! We are Atlanters: we wake up every day with our batteries fully recharged!
Fast forward to now, and we’ve got over 800 charging stations online across Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal, with plenty more on the way!
Our main focus is to have the maximum positive impact while stretching our resources: so, we balance our choices between busy peri-urban locations and road coverage – the latter also thanks to the help of EU funding.
We have strong teams in each country fully empowered to go out and scout for the best locations, while centralized teams help them with technical and planning topics of all sorts.
Convenience for the drivers is the main criteria, but we also must ensure sufficient grid power. Luckily, we can count on our tech teams to supplement grid power with storage whenever needed, to ensure smooth and fast charging experience for our customers.
Atlante to go global within 5 years… that’s a great title for the sequel! But first we need to finish our job in our initial four countries. For sure my vision is that we have set up strong platforms – from development to construction plus just as importantly the whole digital architecture required to efficiently run several thousands of chargers, storage and even photovoltaic.
With these assets, we are ready to take on new challenges, to accompany and in fact accelerate the transition towards zero emissions driving in all of Europe and why not beyond.
My vision is that within 5 years Atlante will be the player of reference in Europe - thanks to our mother company TCC, the first company to be listed on the Taiwanese stock exchange few decades ago.
Our top of the range chargers can deliver up to 300 kW – which are perfect when speed of charge is of essence like on a service area. But bigger is not necessarily better: we are working on more rationale ways to deliver the experience required by our customers, not the one promised by the hardware manufacturers.
The future of chargers is here: centralized power solutions with dispensers that match each customer's needs – plus in many cases storage to supplement the grid.
As you know we are truly passionate about our mission so it comes naturally to us to be ambassadors of change. For example, we’re teaming up with European EV drivers, e-mobility associations, and institutions to promote a widespread adoption of electric driving.
We have become pretty good at our job: scouting for sites, signing up great partnerships, building and operating stations. But then we also need to make our stations fully accessible to all the EV drivers out there. This is why we are spending more and more time and efforts on connectivity, interoperability and roaming topics.
The partnership with Electroverse is one of the best examples we have done so far, one I am very proud of. I am convinced that our newly established friendship will be long lasting, and we will together complete the picture. After all, understanding drivers’ needs and creating synergies is crucial for succeeding in this challenging yet unstoppable electric revolution.
Our first focus is on reliability: every driver that arrives at an Atlante station should be able to charge. Secondly, we believe that charging must be easy and hassle-free.
Our service is fully “self-service” and recharging an EV entails many more complexities vis-à-vis filling a tank with a liquid. But those complexities are for Atlante and its partners to manage: our customers should simply plug in and charge with their preferred method of payment.
In this scheme, once again we need to work with partners like yourselves – who master the digital experience and who have a very strong understanding of the customers’ preferences and behaviour. We will continue to work hard on our part: for example, we’ve just relaunched our customer support service, setting the highest standards to date in our industry.
Absolutely! First off, the energy we provide is 100% certified green, sourced from renewables. Every time you charge at one of our stations, you’re helping avoid an average of 21 kg of CO₂ emissions—that’s like not burning about 9 liters of gasoline!
But we know charging alone isn’t enough. We’re committed to Sustainable Development Goals and take a holistic approach to minimize our environmental impact. We track the impact of our infrastructure (we recently earned a 5-star rating from GRESB, a leading certification organization), work closely with suppliers to optimize our supply chain, and assess the life-cycle impact of our products to reduce or offset our carbon footprint. This includes monitoring and offsetting emissions from corporate events and travel starting in 2024.
Additionally, we give back to our local communities through tailored reforestation initiatives like our recently launched “ATLANTE – Plant to Change”, in partnership with Fondazione AlberItalia. These initiatives are part of our broader support to the Parco Italia project, aiming to regenerate forests in areas with severe hydrogeological issues. Just last week, with the help of our employees, we planted 600 trees in an area of Emilia Romagna heavily affected by flooding.
For next year I have asked my wonderful Sustainability team to raise the bar once again – watch this space!
As I said, it’s only thanks to partnering with champions like Octopus Electroverse that we can complete the picture and provide a truly superb service to our drivers. This will in turn help others make the right choice when buying their next car: no more leaving a dirty trail behind but embracing a modern and clean full electric car. By working with you we can each leverage on our strengths and combine them to accelerate our respective missions. Totally complementary.
Believe it or not I’m not a car expert! Luckily for me I was never a petrol head... I’d love to try more EVs from China (I’ve driven a couple only so far). I am also thinking about getting one of the very small city cars for more frequent urban use – the Topolino is gorgeous! But if I could “make” my own EV I would love to have an old-style Panda 4x4 turned full electric.
Ah! Few can beat me on this one: I’ve driven almost 2000 km from Milan to Oslo! Almost 3 years ago. Wonderful trip. I stopped twice to sleep but I could have done it with one overnight stop only. In terms of charging, I had zero problems and zero worries. Then approx. one year later I’ve driven from Milan to Misano World Circuit and then from there to Alberobello in Puglia (one of the most amazing places you can visit with the typical Trulli houses) and from there to Rome, totaling over 1400 km. This one was more of an adventure… it reminded me why we decided to concentrate on Southern Europe… this is where our work is most needed!
An easy one: change your mind set. Driving around is beautiful, and on long trips you need to stop and rest – it’s natural and it’s also basic safety rules. Recharge your EV while you are recharging your own energy, and you will never waste a minute!
First, I would tell them to decide in advance how to pay for your charge. I guess after we launch this partnership most people will be using the Octopus Electroverse app. Make sure you have credit, or the credit card linked properly. Secondly, most of the time it all goes smoothly but if you have any doubts don’t hesitate to call the toll-free help line: we are proud of our fast response time and we can solve the vast majority of doubts or issues in no time!
The golden rule is to be considerate. Charge your car for what you really need, then unplug and move it to free up the charger for others. We’re all in this together!
Feeling enlightened or do you think something was missing? Let us know by sharing your feedback.
Interested in learning more? Head over to our Electroverse Community area for more electrifying content!
