The first Rome e-Prix, the seventh round of the Formula E championship, came to a close surpassing all expectations. A race that turned into a celebration for the thousands of people who took part in the event, whether out of curiosity to see the electric cars fly past at over 200 km/h, or to experience up close the first grand prix in the recent history of the capital. It wasn't just pit lanes, drivers, qualifying and podiums. The Rome e-Prix was an opportunity to showcase to the public the technologies available today and those of the future, in terms of electric mobility. As with its older sibling — Formula 1 — this type of competition serves as a laboratory for solutions we will have at our disposal in a not-too-distant future. Because the cars need to be charged, electricity is needed to power the entire circus, not just the batteries, and monitoring the grid to manage demand peaks is essential.

Where the electricity for Formula E comes from

In Rome, most of the electricity was supplied by Acea, the multiutility that also manages energy distribution in the capital. Enel, as technical partner of the entire championship, provided the technology, products and services for charging the electric single-seaters and powering the entire circuit and the village that is set up during the grands prix.

"Formula E knows exactly how much energy it needs. At that point we asked Acea how much electricity it could supply us with without causing problems to the grid," explained Christopher Regan, project manager for the electrical infrastructure. "The electricity for the cars comes instead from generators powered by glycerine, a type of biofuel." This essentially involves a process of combustion of glycerine in generators similar to conventional diesel ones, which enables the generation of the electricity needed to charge the cars.

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How much energy do the cars need

Today a Formula E car can reach a maximum power output of 200 kW, thanks to the 200 kg of lithium cells that power the single-seaters' motor. With the superchargers supplied by Enel — the same ones we will soon be able to see in our cities — a full charge takes no more than 45 minutes.

What does the future hold?

Today the cars cannot complete all the laps on a single charge. That is why there is a car swap at the mid-point of the race. But from next year the new cars will be able to complete the circuit without stopping to change vehicle. This will be made possible by the new batteries, unveiled at the Rome ePrix itself, the new 80 kW superchargers and the energy storage systems capable of releasing energy when demand rises and storing it when it is not needed. The goal is to power the cars and the entire circus exclusively on renewables, drastically cutting the emissions of the whole event.