(CNN) For a country known for its lavish and upmarket cars, from Lamborghini to Ferrari, and Maserati, it might come as a surprise the culture in Italy is shifting towards electrification.
Power companies like Enel realize one of the biggest fears among electric car drivers is running out of power. For many, the worry of whether they will be able to find a charging station as easily as a petrol station -- or if they can get to their destination hassle-free -- is an immediate deal breaker when thinking about changing over.
Enel is building an electric highway from Italian northern metropolis Milan all the way to the country's capital, Rome.
Enel wants to eliminate this -- the population's "range anxiety" -- by building an electric highway from Italian northern metropolis Milan all the way to the country's capital, Rome. Along this route, drivers have the opportunity to recharge their batteries every 60 minutes.
"We know electric users like myself are mainly urban users, but we also want to move around for the weekends or travel around, so we've started to build infrastructure all around the country," Alberto Piglia, head of Enel's e-mobility unit, explains to CNN's Supercharged.
Enel's new e-car charging pole station.
"Since last September people can go from Rome to Milan because we installed 30 charging points around the motorway," Piglia says.
"But we haven't stopped there because we are continuing to put infrastructure (so that) people are able to move around Italy."
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Sweden's new electrified road that charges vehicles like real-life slot cars
Sweden has a goal of achieving a completely fossil fuel free vehicle fleet by 2030 and in order to achieve this, it has started trialling a series of projects to develop and test technologies that will enable the country to completely convert to electric vehicles.
One project includes the "eRoad" which charges electric vehicles during journeys via a rail. So far, it has cost €6.4 million ($7.7 million) to install but it's predicted that if it were implemented across the country it would eventually work out less than €1 million ($1.2 million) per kilometer to build.
The trial track built by eRoadArlanda stretches along two kilometers (1.2 miles) and has been installed on public road "893" just 30 minutes outside of Stockholm.
Electricity is transferred to vehicles via a movable arm that attaches to a track in the middle of the road. While the system is designed with the capacity to feed heavier vehicles such as trucks, it's also developed to work for cars and buses.
When vehicles approach the track, a sensor from the car or truck detects the electrified rail and a movable arm from underneath the vehicle lowers and inserts into the rail.
eRoadArlanda says the road is an example of a sustainable and cost-effective solution to enable the electrification of existing commercial roads.
For a heavy truck to be 100% electric, it would need a battery that weighs 40 tonnes, Hans Säll chairman of the eRoadArlanda says. But if technology like the eRoad was readily available, the truck's battery would be able to weigh as little as 600 kilograms because it wouldn't need to retain as much charge.
The eRoad will be used for two years by a truck carrying freight in order to determine how well the innovation works under various weather conditions and in conjunction with normal road traffic.
But eRoadArlanda has said adverse weather such as rain, snow and ice should not cause any major issues. The project has successfully tested drainage of the water in the past and snow plows will be able to clear the road as usual.
The eRoad was opened to the public on April 11, 2018 by the director General of the Swedish Transport Administration Lena Erixon and the Swedish Minister for Infrastructure Tomas Eneroth.
Charge your vehicle in 20 minutes
Enel has also set itself a huge target across the entirety of country -- with plans to build 7,000 recharging points in urban and rural areas by 2020, then another 7,000 by 2022.
Around 1,400 of those will be fast charging stations, Piglia says, which can charge your vehicle in 20 minutes -- 6 times faster than usual charging points.
Such infrastructure is necessary, given sales of new electric vehicles have doubled over the last four years in the country.
The recharging stations are necessary, given sales of new electric vehicles have doubled over the last four years in the country.
Piglia says he has already received emails of praise from customers who are able to travel distances in their electric vehicles that they couldn't before -- including one who traveled from the south of Calabria to watch the Formula E race held in Rome in early May.
"He was able to do this thanks to the recharging stations we have placed from Calabria onwards, so we are gradually giving customers the opportunity to move around north to south.
"It's really big stuff when a customer sends an email saying 'Thank you very much, I was able to do this thanks to you'."
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Enel is investing between €100 million ($122 million) and €300 million ($366 million) in the project, Piglia says.
"The range difference is basically due to the fact that we have a plan that is flexible," he says. "So the more electric vehicles with interest the more we will install."
He also says says having the flexibility allows the company to adapt their plan as markets evolve between now and 2022.
"The more (demand) there is to have high powered, more powerful charging stations compared to the ones that are here today the more we will need to invest."
"We know electric users like myself are mainly urban users, but we also want to move around for the weekends or travel around, so we've started to build infrastructure all around the country," Alberto Piglia, head of Enel's e-mobility unit, told CNN Sport.
Norway to Italy
Enel isn't the only company that's investing to create an "electric highway."
In November last year, energy firm E.ON and Danish e-mobility provider CLEVER announced plans to create a network of ultra-fast charging stations in countries between Norway and Italy.
It received €10 million in funding from the European Commission to install 180 of the fast charging stations across seven countries over the next three years.
"We are talking about a complex project," Markus Nitschke from E.ON told CNN. "As this is an EU funded project we have to accomplish the plan (by the) end of 2021."
Driving the future
Described as "the funnest car I've ever driven" by none other than Kanye West, the Tesla Model S is now being used for
a new zero emissions racing series organized by Electric GT.
Details of the
EGT Championship were unveiled in April, with the inaugural season set to commence in the southern Spanish city of Jerez on November 3, 2018.
Able to accelerate from 0-60mph in just 1.85 seconds, the all-electric Rimac Concept Two is one of the fastest cars ever made.
Unveiled at March's Geneva Motor Show, the Croatian hypercar boasts top speeds of 258mph (412kph) and is claimed to be "as capable on track as it is crossing continents." It can travel a quarter of a mile -- from standstill -- in just 9.1 seconds.
Designers claim the Concept Two has a range of over 400 miles (650km.) With facial recognition in lieu of a traditional key, it's one of numerous electric supercar concepts lighting up 2018.
Offering a "new kind of luxury mobility," the interior design of the Aston Martin Lagonda Vision was overseen by Savile Row tailors.
As well as lush carpets of silk and cashmere, the self-driving car boasts front seats that rotate 180 degrees to facilitate face-to-face conversation on the move.
Designed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the new Lamborghini concept is like nothing else on the road.
Italian for "Third Millennium," the Terzo Millenio would not look out of place in a sci-fi movie.
Stefano Domenicali, Lamborghini CEO and Chairman, said the project "intends to write an important page in the future of super sports cars."
All-electric four-seater saloon from China, the LVCHI Auto Venere claims to have a range of 403 miles (650km).
It's longer than a Range Rover but that doesn't stop it shifting. The Auto Venere can reportedly accelerate from 0-100kph (62mph) in 2.7 seconds, delivering a top speed of 168mph (270kph).
Designed to transport up to to six passengers simultaneously, the EZ-GO concept is Renault's "vision of shared urban mobility."
The shared, electric driverless vehicle has been "built for the city" and has level four autonomous technology, meaning it would be able to handle all routine circumstances on recognizable roads.
The days of the steering wheel may soon be over. Most controls aboard the IMx Kuro can be controlled via hand gestures and eye movements, according to the Japanese manufacturer.
Brain-to-Vehicle, or B2V, technology enables the KURO to interpret signals from the human brain, speeding up reaction times and paving the way for cars that learn from each other. Should the driver wish to sit back and let the car do the work, its seats recline and the steering wheel retracts into the dashboard.
Expected to hit the roads by "2022 at the latest," the I.D. Vizzion is also designed to be used predominantly with voice and gesture.
The car, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, is said to boast a range of 413 miles (665km) between charges and level five autonomous driving -- meaning it can handle any situation a human could negotiate.
Capable of accelerating from 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds, the first ever all-electric Jaguar has 395bhp and a range of 298 miles.
"Every Jaguar feels like no other car on the road," says a statement from the iconic British manufacturer. "Moving to all-electric power doesn't change this."
With a "revolutionary" four-wheel drive powertrain developing 671bhp, the Elextra will reportedly move from standstill to 62mph (100 kph) in less than 2.3 seconds.
The Swiss-German built four-door car will have its top speed limited to 155mph (250 kph) but it boasts a range of over 600km on a single charge.
Hyunda claim the Le Fil Rouge adheres to the golden ratio -- a mathematical pattern found in nature -- culminating in a "sensuous sportiness."
French for "common thread," Hyundai claim Le Fil Rouge is a car that connects Hyundai's past, present and future designs.
This one-seater offering might not be the fastest -- boasting estimated top speeds of just 82mph (130kph) -- but the diminutive three wheeler will zip you around the city where few other cars can go for just $15,500.
Described as the "safest SUV ever," the new Model X seats seven but can accelerate from 0-60mph in just 2.9 seconds.
An amalgamation of the BMW i3 and BMW i8, the i Vision Dynamics concept has a range of 373 miles and accelerates from 0-62mph in four seconds.
Expect to see all-electric Minis on the roads by 2019, marking the 60th anniversary of the legendary marque's first car.
A four-wheel drive SUV concept from India, the futuristic looking e-Survivor will be powered by dual electric motors on each wheel and be equipped for autonomous travel.
Designed for track use only, the Chinese single-seat Techrules Ren RS can be configured with up to six electric motors, delivering up to 1,287bhp.
That lets it travel from 0-62mph (0-100kph) in three seconds with a max speed of 205mph (330kph).
Together with CLEVER, the first sites are being built in Germany and Denmark and will be placed every 120-180 kilometers.
"For many other sites we are in touch with potential partners, landowners or authorities," Nitschke says, adding the preparations to meet the 2021 target are "running well."
Full electric conversion 'will happen rapidly'
It's not just the public sphere Enel is investing in though, it's also partnered with several automakers to bundle private charging stations with the sale of electric vehicles.
Piglia says several factors are involved when it comes to achieving full electric conversion among drivers: the infrastructure, cost, the range of an electric vehicle and how much pleasure people actually get in actually driving them.
"(Full conversion) will happen more rapidly than we actually we think," he says, especially with the help of Formula E.
"It's helped put emotion into electric vehicles."