Low-carbon motorways: concrete measures to reduce CO2 emissions

In France, motorway travel accounts for 95% of transport-related CO2 emissions. VINCI Autoroutes’ low-carbon motorway project aims to help cut these emissions by working with regional partners to develop infrastructure, equipment and services that encourage the use of cleaner vehicles (electric, hydrogen and biogas vehicle charging stations, etc.), shared solutions to motivate people to shift away from driving alone (carsharing car parks, express bus services with reserved lanes, and more) and interconnected transport services (multimodal car parks).

In 2022, five low-carbon motorway conventions had already been signed in France with Région Sud, Tours Métropole, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Communauté Pays Basque & Syndicat des mobilités and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Moreover, nearly half the VINCI Autoroutes fleet of light intervention vehicles were converted to electric in 2022. By 2030, 85% of the fleet will be electric, while the remaining 15% will run on rechargeable hybrid or biofuel.

INCREASING THE NUMBER OF ELECTRIC CHARGING POINTS
To help accelerate the shift to eco-mobility and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from road travel, VINCI Autoroutes is leading the rollout of e-vehicle charging infrastructure on motorways. With over one hundred service areas equipped with charging stations in 2022 (i.e. more than 60% of service areas), the VINCI Autoroutes network is the most widely equipped in France. All service areas across the network will be fitted with electric charging stations by 2023.
As well as fitting its network with e-charging stations, VINCI Autoroutes is developing connected services that give travellers “seamless” access to charging units. Its Ulys app allows over 5.2 million subscribers to geolocate more than 62,000 electric vehicle charging points all over France and will offer remote payment so they can recharge at any type of charging unit.

ENCOURAGING CARSHARING
VINCI Autoroutes has a special subscription for motorway users – the Ulys carsharing option in partnership with BlaBlaCar – as well as dedicated parking facilities at motorway entrances and exits on its network (43 car parks in service providing 3,577 spaces in 2022). The network capacity will double over the coming years as a result of the French government’s Motorway Investment Plan, under which VINCI Autoroutes will invest €16 million to create around 40 additional car parks. Cutting-edge infrastructure, like the Longvilliers multimodal car park, located 45 km south-west of Paris, allow users to combine carsharing services with other mobility solutions such as the motorway express bus service. Residents in the regions through which the network passes thereby have access to a full range of low carbon travel solutions.