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On Wednesday, construction began on another electric vehicle charging hub, in Senoji Varėna. According to Tomas Tamašauskas, Head of Eldrive Lithuania, the hub is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2025, and once the first phase is complete, 10 electric vehicles will be able to charge at the same time and five 400 kW charging stations will be installed. The charging hub is being built at the junction of the Alytus and Vilnius roads, next to the Eiffel roundabout in Senoji Varėna.
Electric vehicle charging operator Eldrive began building its first charging hub near Panevėžys in May, and at the end of July also on the Kaunas–Klaipėda road. The company's head, Tomas Tamašauskas, says that this charging hub will be somewhat more compact: “We have developed two concepts for different locations in Lithuania – on the country's main roads there will be charging hubs where 20–40 electric vehicles can charge at the same time, and at locations like this one, 10 electric vehicles. This charging hub near Varėna will also have a Caffeine café, rest and work areas and toilets. The Vilnius–Druskininkai road carries heavy traffic not only to Druskininkai and Varėna, but also towards Poland – it is an excellent strategic location.”
Varėna District Mayor Algis Kašėta is pleased that this particular municipality was chosen for the project: “Senoji Varėna is a strategically convenient location, and a project like this will contribute to the region's economic growth and to increasing tourist flows. We always support initiatives that promote sustainable development and improve our residents' quality of life.”
Kęstutis Faktorovičius, head of Kenova, the company developing the project, noted that this project is a good example of increasingly popular build-to-suit projects: “We are responsible for delivering several Eldrive charging hub projects, from analysing the suitability of the plot to organising construction and financing. We will hand over to the client facilities that ideally match their needs, while also making rapid expansion possible for Eldrive.”
The project's main partner is Reitan Convenience Lithuania, which operates the Caffeine and Narvesen café chains. Its head, Saulius Žilėnas, says the new facility will make travelling more convenient: “Travelling from Vilnius towards Varėna, there was no convenient place to stop and enjoy quality coffee and snacks. We know this region very well, because it is in Varėna that all the organic coffee served across the Caffeine and Narvesen network is roasted. We know that both residents and our employees who live here or come here regularly have been waiting for this place, which will also be convenient when travelling to Druskininkai or other places in southern Lithuania,” said S. Žilėnas.
Dainius Zalieckas, Commercial Director of Ranresta, the construction company carrying out the project, says this project is a great example of how quickly the future is arriving in Europe and Lithuania: “This is no ordinary project, as it involves solving not only construction challenges but also infrastructure challenges. It is a real pleasure to contribute to that.”
The first charging hub will open its doors in December
According to the head of Eldrive, this charging hub in Senoji Varėna is one of many that will start operating in our country over the next few years: “In Lithuania, charging locations are very unevenly distributed. We have a lot of charging stations in the major cities, but very few on the main roads or in the regions. In December, the first hub of its kind not only in Lithuania but in the Baltic states will open its doors in the Panevėžys district, and in the first quarter of 2025 the second one will open on the Kaunas–Klaipėda road. These projects will help promote e-mobility in our country.”
A unique concept
T. Tamašauskas explains that similar charging hubs already exist around the world, but they are developed next to existing destinations.
“Charging stations on the road are usually installed at various destinations, such as shopping and entertainment centres, restaurants, hotels or fuel stations. We wanted to create a new concept and a unique destination. The idea for this hub was born from the problems electric vehicle drivers in Lithuania used to face: a small number of stations at one location, which led to queues, and insufficient station power, which significantly lengthened charging times – all of which made planning journeys by electric vehicle difficult. Our charging hub, with a large number of very powerful stations, will create the right conditions for using electric vehicles to be convenient, reliable and accessible to everyone. Charging an electric vehicle can take anywhere from a dozen or so minutes to a little over an hour, so naturally people need somewhere to spend that time, especially in Lithuania, where we have both cold winters and many rainy days. In addition, traditional fuel stations have created new trends, with people increasingly stopping there not only for fuel but also to drink coffee or eat. We aim to adapt to this too, so together with our partners at Reitan Convenience we will offer visitors a new concept for their brands,” says T. Tamašauskas.
According to the latest data, more than 15,000 electric vehicles are registered in Lithuania, and their number is expected to reach several hundred thousand by 2030. In total, more than 1,000 slow (AC) charging stations and around 300 fast (DC) charging stations operate in our country. In the same period in 2022, the country had a total of 333 slow and just 55 fast charging stations.
