One plug fits all? Multi-sectoral complementarities, operator diversity, and geographies of transition in Spain's electric vehicle recharge networks

Abstract

[EN] The acceleration of the Electric Vehicle (EV) transition requires upscaling recharge infrastructure, creating localized economic opportunities around new sociotechnical configurations. Existing studies have investigated the technical aspects of EV recharge but not the multi-sectoral interactions and complementarities that chargers involve, with their geographical foundations. Research on the geography of transitions is developing across transition studies and economic geography, but a framework to connect innovation, technology diffusion, and the emergence of new markets and institutions is still lacking. This paper aims to identify the activities, constraints, actors, and strategies that are involved in EV recharge, and reflect on how the diffusion of chargers relates to the emergence of new local development paths. Expert interviews showed that EV recharge involves six interconnected domains ranging from electric generation to recharge demand. Operators differ in the tasks they perform and the strategies they pursue, according to whether they engage in high- or low-speed recharge and if recharge is their core or secondary business. Diversity of technological and business approaches by recharge operators involves different geographical orientations. Understanding the geography of new sociotechnical configurations requires embracing this variability and building on it to devise place-sensitive policies and recommendations.