“The parking lot is the first thing you see when you arrive at a business“, points out Lionel Chevalier “And the last thing; when you leave!», adds Luca Rossini. This issue of company image is one of the many reasons that make the director of partnerships and the manager of RossiniEnergy believe in their products.
The company, created in 2018 and based in Villeneuve d'Ascq, manufactures, installs and maintains photovoltaic canopies for recharging electric cars: the “Tosso” (for “solar roof”). And, its “bestseller”: the wooden charging station. This, which incorporates the socket, must for its part be connected to a general low voltage panel or to an electric meter, an interior cabinet if possible to be protected from bad weather and vandalism, and as close as possible to the terminals, “to favor cabling savings and speed of maintenance“.
Beyond its obvious aesthetic appeal, this terminal stands out from traditional products in terms of customer experience: no need for a dedicated card, a QR code is enough, which sends you to your account and a credit card payment system. “The best screen is the one you have in your pocket!», pleads the trained physicist.
“Our teams know our products intimately»
“We do the entire design from A to Z: hardware, software, manufacturing, assembly, installation and management-maintenance. We wanted to settle vertically», he continues. Rot-proof Douglas fir from French forests and worked by a carpenter from the Côte d'Opale, European components, manufacturing and assembly in their office-workshop… The company is aligned with its convictions. Three other workshops were created, in Angers, Saint-Etienne and in Italy, near Milan. “The only thing that is centralized in Villeneuve d'Ascq is R&D. Everything else is made in each workshop-office», specifies Luca Rossini. “We did this by choice because we didn't want to create a large company that sends terminals in trucks to people who install them but who don't know the product. Our teams know our products intimately because they made them themselvess”.
30% of AC terminals in the region
2,000 terminals installed, 2.9 million turnover in 2023, 33 employees and a market share of 30% of AC (alternating current) terminals in Hauts-de-France… the company has attracted, among others, Lesaffre, Kiloutou, France windshield, Utopia campsites, Najeti hotels, golf courses and even atypical clients such as the Commonwealth for the car parks of its military cemeteries.
RossiniEnergy, however, wishes to develop its market share in the industrial sector, which currently represents 25% of its turnover. “They need to power and monetize their employees' electricity. But even if they do not monetize, we must still be able to measure who has consumed and when, because this will become a benefit in kind by 2026», pleads Lionel Chevalier, whose objective is to help his clients “anticipate their needs“.
Photovoltaics and electric cars: “An evidence»
The meaning is also, of course, that of green energy. “Our added value, and this is the holy grail of the company, is to create the link between the car and the sun via shades. This is what strongly distinguishes us from traditional players: we know how to instantly measure what the panel produces and we will power the cars accordingly. It's very virtuous», points out Lionel Chevalier. “It's what drives us to do what we do.», continues Luca Rossini. “We say to ourselves: changing to an electric car makes sense if we go all the way, namely that we recharge with clean, self-produced energy. But the two technologies – photovoltaics and the electric car – have evolved together. It's the perfect dream! If I am a solar panel, I dream of having a container to fill, and that is the electric car. And the electric car, its dream is to power itself with clean, carbon-free and local energy. So these two products were made to meet. It’s a love story, obviously!», for Luca Rossini.
RossiniEnergy’s roadmap? “Clone» its organizational model in new French cities like Bordeaux and Strasbourg, but also in Belgium, “a very interesting market“. A deal is in progress with a new investor.
