GIREVE project: a memorandum of understanding setting up the “Groupement pour l’Itinérance des Recharges Électriques de Véhicules”

Caisse des Dépôts, electricity distributor ERDF, PSA Peugeot Citroën and Renault have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to create a joint structure to develop roaming services for charging electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, known as GIREVE. The signature took place on October 3, 2012 following a press conference with Arnaud Montebourg, Minister of Industrial Revival, Delphine Batho, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, and Frédéric Cuviller, Minister of State for Transport, the Sea and Fishing.


A set of “made-to-measure” services


With these services, drivers will be able to locate and use any charging stations regardless of who owns them: municipalities, parking managers, mobility operators, etc.

IT applications on GPS or smartphones will make it possible to locate all the available stations and possibly to book one.
Drivers will be able to charge their vehicles freely: not just in their usual area and with their contractual operator but also outside their area and on stations run by other operators, in France and elsewhere.


Extensive consultation

On the request of the ministries, the four signatories of the MOU will engage in extensive consultation with stakeholders to bring in new, suitable partners and endow the structure with the expertise and resources required.

The first task will be to create a nationwide directory of charging stations with precise information on each one, including its occupancy. This directory will be made available to operators so that they can develop user services such as mapping, charging, mobility, and customer support. The structure will create the data exchange standards to be used by this directory, enabling payment clearing services between operators. It will also represent France in dealings with other countries so that these standards can be extended to cross-border exchanges. It may also advise municipalities in its area of expertise.

The French government will be associated with this project, named GIREVE. It will oversee progress as part of a process open to all stakeholders, enabling the free creation of services meeting the expectations of electric vehicle users.


Press contacts:

Caisse des Dépôts:
Alexis Nugues – Tel. 01 58 50 40 00 – alexis.nugues@caissedesdepots.fr

ERDF:
Alizée Gervais – Tel. 01 47 74 75 98 – alizee.gervais@erdfdistribution.fr

PSA Peugeot Citroën:
Caroline Brugier - Tel : 01 40 66 58 54 – caroline.brugier-corbiere@mpsa.com

Renault:
Aline Henry  – Tel. 01 76 84 01 83 – aline.henry@renault.com

About Caisse des Dépôts

Caisse des Dépôts and its subsidiaries are a state-owned group making long-term investments to promote the general interest and local economic development. Its remit was confirmed by France’s Economic Modernization Act of August 4, 2008: “Caisse des Dépôts and its subsidiaries are a public group serving the general interest and national economic development. This group carries out missions of general interest to support the policies conducted by the state and local and regional authorities, and may engage in competitive activities”.

About ERDF

ERDF – Electricité Réseau Distribution France – was set up on January 1, 2008. It manages the public electricity distribution network for 95% of continental France. With its 35,000 employees, the company oversees the operation, development and maintenance of 1.3 million km of power lines serving 35 million  customers. In this capacity, it carries out a range of operations across the network, such as connections, commissioning, repairs and changes of supplier. It also calculates the energy consumed by each customer and processes the data to enable the electricity market to function.

About PSA Peugeot Citroën

Building on its two globally renowned brands, Peugeot and Citroën, the Group sold 3.5 million vehicles  worldwide in 2011, of which 42% outside Europe. The Group is Europe’s No. 2 vehicle manufacturer, with revenue of €59.9 billion in 2011. PSA Peugeot Citroën has market presence in 160 countries. In 2011, it channelled more than €2 billion into R&D, with particular emphasis on vehicles running on new energies. Its activities also extend to financing (Banque PSA Finance), logistics (Gefco) and vehicle parts (Faurecia).

About Renault

The Renault group, present in 118 countries, designs, develops, manufactures and sells passenger cars and light commercial vehicles under the Renault, Dacia and Renault Samsung Motors brands. To meet the new challenges facing the automotive industry, both environmental and economic, Renault is implementing a two-pronged strategy: improvements to existing technologies with new generations of carbon-efficient engines, and the breakthrough “Zero Emission” programme. Renault launched a zero-emission range in 2011 with Fluence ZE and Kangoo ZE, followed in 2012 by Twizy, an innovative urban quadricyle, and ZOE, which arrives on the market this autumn. This range makes innovation affordable to the greatest number. With its partner Nissan, Renault is targeting world leadership in the mass marketing of zero-emission vehicles.