In the near future (not too near) we will see a significant acceleration of the transition from a transport system based on oil to another based on electric cars. The transformation will affect many aspects of mobility and will not neglect an omnipresent element in our traveler routine: what will the service stations of the future be like?
More catering, no petrol
The profits of the old "petrol stations" could drop vertically, and we will witness a transformation that will make these refueling points a cross between modern mini-hypermarkets (along the lines of the various 7Elevens that exist abroad) and small bistros where you can spend the short (hopefully increasingly shorter) stop necessary to recharge your vehicle's battery.
Several oil companies have timidly started to move in this direction, installing electric charging points directly in their refueling stations. The first company to move was Shell, with a "transformation" program that began in January in England and Holland.
“In several countries we plan a refueling network for electric vehicles,” he told the Financial Times John Abbott, Business Director Shell. “If we have to wait to recharge a vehicle, it will be logical to want to spend time eating something or optimizing shopping times”. The type of battery chargers installed should allow an 80% recharge of an average battery in approximately 30 minutes.
25.000 Shell service stations worldwide will likely require decades for a complete makeover. The pace today does not seem to be too slow compared to a transition that is less rapid than expected. What matters is to prepare, because the transition from one system to another could accelerate drastically in the presence of particular market conditions, or progress in the field of components.
Total echoes this choice with an investment, planned last year, of around 300 million euros for the installation of 200 Megawatts of photovoltaic energy on 5000 service stations around the world. Similar choices come from Tesla and some Russian companies (on its initiative government).
In other words, the hydrocarbon giants are "warming up their engines" for the transition to electric.
