Enefit, part of Estonia’s Eesti Energia group developing EV charging infrastructure, announced on 31 March that it donates 28 CHAdeMO chargers (ABB Terra 51, 50kW) to Ukraine. Installed since 2011 in Estonia and still being fully operational, the commonly-called ELMO chargers, which had been retired from serving Estonian EV drivers, have found a new home in small municipalities of Ukraine. According to AVERE Ukraine, the organisation which manages the receiving side, another Estonian CPO Alexela had already started donating ELMO chargers, and the firs two chargers were already delivered to the rural Cherkasy community of Ukraine.
The innovative ELMO project started in 2011. The project team installed 165 CHAdeMO chargers along the country’s major roads at a maximum distance of 40 to 60 km, achieving a first of its kind, countrywide network of fast EV chargers. The government rolled out an EV sharing fleet of over 500 Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric vehicles for social workers in Estonia’s municipalities. The project ended in 2017, and the chargers were eventually sold to Enefit Volt and Alexela, both of which continued to operate until it was time for the chargers to retire. At the time of decommissioning, a former ELMO project team member asked the owners not to scrap the working chargers but to donate to those who need them, which led to these projects.
We wish these chargers all the best and hope this can be an inspiration for many other CPOs.
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