A total of 15 MAPNA-developed charging stations for electric vehicles were officially inaugurated by officials in the Iranian capital amid efforts to boost electrification in the metropolis.
In a ceremony on August 28, an EV charging station at Tehran’s iconic Azadi Square was inaugurated along with 14 others across the city with high-ranking officials in attendance including Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Abbas Aliabadi, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, and Chairman of Tehran City Council Mehdi Chamran.
The inaugurated stations are part of a contract that was signed between MAPNA Electric & Control Engineering & Manufacturing Company (MECO) and Tehran Municipality to provide Tehran with EV charging infrastructure back in late July.
Under the contract, MECO installs and operates 74 EV chargers at 15 locations in Tehran, including 24 fast-charging DC chargers with 30, 60, 120, and 240 kW output and 50 AC chargers with an output of 7.4 kW.
The contract between MAPNA Group and Tehran Municipality aims to create a platform for Tehran to join the global list of cities with electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This is only the first stage of the project. The next stage will involve another contract to produce and install 5,000 more chargers in 22 districts of the capital. These chargers will include 500 DC chargers and 4,500 AC chargers, and they will be able to service 50,000 electric vehicles.
Several officials addressed the launch ceremony that was held at Azadi Square’s convention center.
Speedy implementation of project
CEO of MECO Mohammad Hossein Refan briefed participants on the details of the chargers, noting that the conglomerate had already installed three charging stations in the Iranian capital.
He said that the project of 15 stations was completed in only 24 days following the signing of the deal.
Paving way for electrification of cities
Also addressing the event was Minister Aliabadi who had led MAPNA Group for long years before being voted to run the country’s key ministry in June.
He said that Tehran is moving towards electric cars and that they have been working on this for years. He said: “We have started to produce electric cars in our major domestic companies but restrict ourselves to this. We also import electric cars to pave the way for electrification of cities.”
He added: “We have told the car manufacturers to use 50% of their capacity for electric cars. We are starting with assembled cars, but we will also make domestic cars later. Our priority is to make buses, taxis and motorcycles electric.”
The charging fee for electric cars will be lower than the cost of gasoline, and that the Ministry of Energy will decide on the tariff, Aliabadi said.
He also noted that about 100 electric car chargers have been installed in the country so far.
A ‘fast’ start for electrification
Alireza Zakani hailed the inauguration as a “fast start” for the electrification of cars in Tehran.
“We are using our domestic capacity and international resources to provide 1,000 electric buses as a priority. We also have a plan to provide 50,000 electric taxis,” he said.
The mayor of Tehran also said that their agreement with the Ministry of Industry includes providing 400,000 electric motorcycles.
In a brief address, Mehdi Chamran named electrification as a solution to the challenge of air pollution in Tehran, noting that Tehraners expect the expansion of electric transportation, especially electric buses, across the city.
Participants in the event then headed towards the EV station at Azadi Square to inaugurate it.
EVs are becoming more popular globally, but they are still relatively new to the Iranian market. Like in other parts of the world, there are several challenges to the growth of the EV market in Iran, including the need for diverse technological developments in power equipment, electric motors, control systems, and batteries. However, one of the biggest concerns is the development of the necessary infrastructure for recharging these vehicles. To address this issue, MAPNA Group has undertaken a mission that involves producing EV conversion kits and building electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs). MAPNA launched Iran’s first EV charging station back in May 2019 in the capital Tehran.