Electric route between Panama and Costa Rica on wheels

This Ministry of Energy release was published using machine translation.

City, November 29, 2021. From now on, people who drive electric vehicles will be able to travel from San José to Panama City and vice versa, without having to worry about charging their electric car, zero emissions.

The Costa Rican Electric Mobility Association (ASOMOVE) and the National Secretariat of Energy began the maiden voyage of the San José - Panama City Electric Route with a group of 10 electric vehicles and about 25 associates.

"With the welcome of this Electric Route it is demonstrated that Panamanians or Costa Ricans will be able to perfectly drive from San José, to Panama and vice versa in an electric vehicle, without worrying about the load of their vehicle," said Jorge Rivera Staff, Secretary of Energy of Panama .

The Electric Route has the support of the Government of Costa Rica, the Government of Panama and UN Environment. The maiden voyage, over a distance of more than 900 kilometers, and departed November 29 from our capital and will run until December 4. It is carried out within the framework of the abolition of the army with the slogan that Costa Rica can abolish the use of oil.

«This E-Ride shows the articulation of the public, private, financial and civil society sectors around the deployment of electric mobility. And it goes further, it is a testimony of the binational work, Costa Rica and Panama, to achieve the decarbonization of transport, responsible for 20% of greenhouse-type emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean.

"It is a sign that the deployment of electric mobility in the region does not remain in rhetoric, it is translated into public policy and concrete developments," said Gustavo Máñez, Coordinator of Climate Change for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Program United for the Environment.

“I think an awareness has been created that we cannot continue to lead the lifestyle of the past. Electric transportation plays a fundamental role in the life of all Panamanians and Costa Ricans; now we are in a phase of change, leaving fossil fuels behind… Panama is a leading country in the region, and we are making enormous efforts to face the energy transformation. I believe that the electric vehicle is called upon to experience exponential growth in the coming years ”concluded Alexander Fragueiro, Electric Mobility Consultant of the National Energy Secretariat.

“We are very happy to inaugurate this binational electric route, a joint effort of various sectors, both here in Costa Rica and in Panama. With this electrical network we demonstrate that the conditions exist to make use of zero-emission mobility, especially in this week that we celebrate the Abolition of the Army, because we travel with the slogan that we can also abolish the use of oil ", said Silvia Rojas, Director ASOMOVE executive.

The E-Ride in our country will be visiting various points of the city and will hold an exhibition of electric vehicles with the aim of showing zero emissions technology and that people know the different models of vehicles.

"It seems positive to us that these types of initiatives are carried out, so that more people get closer to electric vehicles, that myths are dismantled, in terms of use, and the functionality of these vehicles is shown in different contexts, with different climates," he said. Andrea Meza, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica.

Detail of the electrical route.

The electricity that powers this charging network is renewable. In Panama, chargers use solar plants and wind energy, which combines renewable energy with zero-emission vehicles, an important contribution to reducing emissions.

The chargers in Costa Rica are fast-charging and operated by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), also powered by renewable electricity, located in areas such as Herradura, Jacó, Quepos, Dominical, Uvita, Palmar Norte and Ciudad Neily.

In Panama, the chargers are private and operated by ENEL X, Evergo, La Casa de las Baterías and BYD, there will be semi-fast chargers as well as fast chargers in Chitré, La Chorrera and Panama City.

The Electric Route is sponsored by ENE X, Evergo, BYD, La Casa de las Baterías, Walmart, EV2, Hyundai, Promerica and Porcerámica.