Formula E: Enel X on the track in Rome
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A sustainable city, where e-vehicles join today's petrol and diesel vehicles on its streets – that was Rome on Saturday 13 April during the second Rome E-Prix race, the seventh stage of the ABB-FIA Formula E World Championship. 22 cars raced at top speed along the straights and through the chicanes of the 2.8 kilometre circuit winding among the metaphysical architecture of Rome's EUR Quarter. The event was accompanied by music, performances, attractions for young and old on the e-mobility theme and an enthusiastic audience - over 35,000 people on the stands and 35 million watching live on TV in 9o countries. The race lived up to expectations with unexpected events, drama and spectacular duels. The eventual winner was New Zealander Mitch Evans of the Panasonic Jaguar team, after a breathtaking manoeuvre half-way through the race that saw him overtake German driver André Lotterer, who had started in pole position.
Enel X on the track at the e-Prix in Rome
35,000 passionate people, 22 electric cars that battled on the track and us, #EnelX, with our technology. Here is everything that happened at Formula E's #RomeEPrix!
An even more spectacular contest
Technology that serves speed: this is the concept enclosed in #XforSpeed, our official hashtag for eMotorsport's competitions.
"This year's E-Prix is even more spectacular," said Alberto Piglia, Head of e-Mobility at Enel X, visiting the pit lane, "because the cars race without stopping they are equipped with more powerful batteries and equally powerful charging instruments supplied by our company." As the championship's Official Smart Charging Partner, Enel X has developed the innovative Enel X JuicePump80 FE edition which enables the latest-generation cars to complete the race – 45 minutes plus one lap – on a single charge, so they do not need to stop for a car swap, which they had to do in previous years.
From track to street and everyone's home
The capital city's special day began bright and early as the spectators began to arrive at the circuit to watch the Formula E free practice session and the parade of competition Smart cars that will take part in the second season of the Smart EQ fortwo e-cup featuring the electric monobrand of which Enel X is a partner. Enel X CEO Francesco Venturini also appeared for the occasion on board an electric two-seater. "Here there's an important part of Enel technology," Venturini said. "We're proud of what we are doing. We have a great team working on both Formula E and Moto E. These races aren't just about image and publicity. For us, they are opportunities for experimentation: everything we bring here to charge the Formula E cars helps us make even further improvements to the products we're taking onto the streets and into everyone's home."
Having fun learning how to use e-cars
One of the hashtags we have chosen is #TryThisAtHome. It's an invitation to try out in everyday life the infrastructure we provide for Formula E, and the e-prix audience has responded with enthusiasm, flocking to the Enel X stand in the E-Village inside the La Nuvola conference centre. This is an edutainment space where large numbers of youngsters, families with children and people of all ages and backgrounds had fun enjoying a direct experience showing just how easy it is to use our innovative gamma Juice charging points – from the 3D interactive model of an ideal city to show how the JuicePole, JuiceLamp, JuiceBox and JuicePump charging stations operate to the virtual e-vehicle driving experience with plenty of charging stops, wearing a virtual reality headset.
The photo-op for visitors on board the new-generation Formula E at the stand was also a great success, as was the Enel X radio-controlled model e-car driving experience. Several celebrities were unable to resist trying out their skills - driver Giancarlo Fisichella and comedy duo I Soldi Spicci made time between featuring in their fans' selfies to take to the social media to describe their day. "This is a special grand prix, an important event for Rome," said Fisichella. "Seeing such great interest being shown in Formula E, which is the future of mobility, makes me very happy." I Spicci took advantage of the E-Prix to try out an e-car for the first time. "A wonderful experience, like walking on clouds".
The first scooter sharing service
Not far from the E-Village visitors could also try out another significant new facility - the first e-scooter sharing service. The service, which is the result of a partnership between our company and Bird Rides Italy, offers a complete sustainable transport solution – all Enel X public charging stations will also become "nests" for the Bird scooters, providing an opportunity for e-vehicle drivers to park, place their vehicle on charge and continue their journey on an electric scooter booked via Enel X Recharge, an App that enables users to identify their nearest charging station. "Bird is a natural partner for Enel X," said Lucio Tropea, Head of e-Mobility marketing at Enel X. This service has already achieved great success throughout the world. Between now and the end of the year we'll be selecting a city in Italy where we will launch a pilot project."
Pit lane preparations
While visitors were relaxing in the E-Village, the pits were a hive of activity as teams prepared for the single-seater race, with cars capable of reaching 280 kilometres per hour, accelerating from zero to 100 in 2.8 seconds. To handle charging, Enel X provided all 11 teams with two Enel X JuicePump80 FE edition systems. "They have a much a much higher power rating than the street versions, 80 kW as opposed to 50, and they are extremely light in order to meet motorsport specifications," said Alberto Venanzoni, a charging infrastructure development specialist at Enel X. His colleague Ilaria Vergantini also explained that it was specifically developed for the new Formula E car batteries, with a capacity that was increased from 28 kWh to 54 kWh. "It now takes one hour 15 minutes to complete a full charge, 45 minutes during a race." More charging stations were available in the garage area, used by the safety cars. "They're the brand-new Juice Poles," Venanzoni said, "An AC infrastructure with two 22 kW outlets available for charging normal vehicles. So far over 5,700 charging points have been installed throughout Italy.
A step forward for e-mobility
When the qualifying sessions are completed the cars are given another full charge and then line up on the starting grid. The Frecce Tricolori (the Italian Air Force's Tricolour Arrows) air display team made a low-altitude pass over the circuit and the race began. After a thrilling contest the prize-giving ceremony took place on the stage erected in front of the obelisk dedicated to Guglielmo Marconi. After a wonderful day of sport, Formula E's president and founder Alejandro Agag said that the E-Prix will return to the EUR circuit "because we always feel at home in Rome," adding to the general impression that the commitment to promote e-mobility had taken an important step forward.
The Innovation grand prix continues for Enel X
For Enel X the Rome E-Prix didn't finish with the chequered flag. All data gathered during the event will be used to conduct experimental analyses via City Analytics, the innovative Enel X platform developed to help local authorities optimise service planning, starting with mobility, on the basis of actual demand. The platform integrates anonymous and integrated data from a variety of sources – mobile apps, network ads, open data and sensors. Machine learning algorithms enable it to provide administrators with relevant information like the number of people present in certain areas of the city, mobility flows with the routes followed and profiles of users in aggregated anonymous groups such as tourists, residents, commuters divided according to type of transport. Another tangible example of how this company intends to make our cities more sustainable and efficient, all on a human scale.
City Analytics takes to the track
City analized during thr Rome E-Prix
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