It manufactures containers for storing electricity and recharging vehicles equipped with batteries. Jean-Christophe Kerdelhué, founder and director of NW, the only French unicorn in the energy sector, takes an objective look at the ecological transition: on the deployment of electric models, Europe has undoubtedly demonstrated a little too much ambition, believes the entrepreneur whose economic model seems to resist all hazards. The decarbonization of transport will take place, because that is the meaning of history. But while Chinese manufacturers are putting pressure on their competitors by presenting their new electric models at the auto show, it is better to promote innovation rather than taxes, judges the one who has just raised 430 million euros in the form of bank loans.
L’Express: Like Luca de Meo, European manufacturers are calling on Brussels to ease up on the deployment of electric vehicles. Are we really going too fast by only authorizing the sale of models that emit no CO2 from 2035?
Jean-Christophe Kerdelhué: I would rather say that our objectives are perhaps too ambitious. To say that we are going to market 100% electric vehicles from 2035 is a strong commitment. In 2020, this might have seemed feasible. But as the time horizon shrinks, we realize the difficulties. Let’s be clear: I think electrification will happen. It goes in the direction of the story. The transport sector represents 30% of global CO2 emissions. It must therefore be decarbonized. The problem is that we do not live in a closed world centered on Europe.
In China and the United States, the objectives for the deployment of electric vehicles are not the same, which introduces a competitiveness differential. European manufacturers even suffer a double constraint, since they are exposed to fines if the climate objectives are not achieved. So be careful not to shoot us in the foot. Especially since we face other difficulties.
“If we continue to tell citizens that the electric vehicle costs more than the gasoline model for recharging, it will not work.”
The electric vehicle has recently received a lot of criticism. We can even talk about disinformation. We are told that this means of transport costs more to recharge than a gasoline vehicle, or that we are forced to switch to electric. At NW, the JBoxes that we install throughout the territory allow our customers to benefit from a charging cost of 5 euros per 100 km. An amount significantly lower than what owners of thermal vehicles pay.
The profits we derive from storing electricity in our containers – a service which contributes to the stability of the national network and for which RTE pays us – coupled with the revenues from our trading activities on the energy markets, we allow us to maintain advantageous prices for our customers. But if we continue to tell citizens that the electric vehicle costs more than the gasoline model for recharging, it will not work. Let’s not forget what happened to wind power either. The first models were installed without any real consultation. We had to “go quickly”. The result? Twenty years later, the protests remain strong for part of the population. You must therefore take the time to fully understand the problems.
Beyond the battle of figures over the cost of recharging, the price of electric cars remains high. How can we facilitate their adoption under these conditions?
By deploying services. I am convinced that manufacturers will make efforts in this area. In terms of leasing for example. Fewer and fewer French people are buying vehicles outright. We can imagine rental offers with insurance or energy included. We clearly see that a manufacturer like Tesla is not just a car seller but also a service provider. This trend will develop. We also see that with its latest electric models, Renault is already giving its customers the possibility of reinjecting the energy remaining in the vehicle into the electricity network.
The other way to encourage the deployment of vehicles that do not emit CO2 is to continue investments in infrastructure. Charging stations are growing. But we still often forget the 15 to 20 million people who live far from big cities, deep within our territory. NW addresses precisely this problem since our containers are intended to cover remote areas. In fact, I don’t install a station because there is traffic but because it will come. And I remain optimistic for the future. Perhaps in 2035, Europe and France will not achieve 100% of the objectives they had set for themselves. But at least we are far from stagnation.
Budgetary decisions also do not favor the switch to electricity. At the highest level of government, the economy still takes precedence over ecology.
We can get by without state subsidies or ecological bonuses! NW managed to emerge without resorting to government aid. We have raised two funds from Rgreen, a French investment company, and we have just obtained a new contribution of 430 million euros in the form of a bank loan. It is true that in France, it can be tempting to apply for a grant to develop an innovative activity. It is, so to speak, an old tradition to use this method of financing. But in the current period, where the State is rather seeking to save money, it is also an opportunity to think: “If I no longer have the ecological bonus, how can I make a winning product for the customer , the planet and the industry?”
It is by focusing on innovation that Europe will be able to resist. More than by putting in place subsidies or taxes on Chinese vehicles. Certainly, this last measure can be understood if we look at what happened to the solar panels. Twenty years ago, the Germans and Americans dominated this market. Today, China no longer has a rival in this area. But taxing is a short-term policy. Let’s fight with our weapons. We have an extremely creative country. In my business, the battery manufacturers are Chinese. But our company has developed all the network interface software. Our competitors do not have this intellectual property. It is this know-how that must be developed and protected on a European scale.
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