Infini Drive is a project aimed at creating a charging standard for electric vehicles. Nice is one of the four cities where it will be tested, a step that follows a logical progression.
With blue bicycles, blue cars, the Green Flow, the Eco Valley, and the PNRQAD (National Program for the Requalification of Degraded Ancient Quarters), Christian Estrosi can be pleased to be on the verge of achieving his goal: making Nice the “green city of the Mediterranean.”
The Infini Drive R&D (Research and Development) project thus complements this list. It involves setting up a standard for so-called “smart” charging stations to foster the use of electric vehicles within companies and local authorities.
Practically, users of these vehicles will be able to charge “anywhere, at any time, and safely.” Two major public services have the responsibility or rather the privilege of experimenting with Infini Drive; employees of La Poste and ERDF are associated with the projects. At La Poste, it’s the Nice Thiers platform that will participate in the experimentation. The group plans to deploy more than 10,000 electric cars nationwide over the next three years. In Nice, La Poste already has 32 electric cars and 14 electric quads for collecting and distributing mail. At ERDF, the electric fleet will soon consist of 1,500 to 2,500 electric cars. For Michel Magnan, regional director of ERDF Cรดte d’Azur, it’s a “real motivation.”
The 8 partners of the project also seem very motivated. Louis Nรจgre, senator-mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, emphasizes that “everyone is working hand in hand” on this forward-looking project. A total cost of 9.1 million euros, with 3.5 million euros provided by the state as part of the “Investments for the Future” program.
At the end of the Infini Drive experimentation process, a green paper will be available to other companies and communities wishing to acquire electric vehicles. Its purpose will be to provide an assessment and will be accompanied by economic, environmental, and social recommendations.
Nice thus leads the way alongside Grenoble, Nantes, and Paris; the city is already building a green future.
