Coulomb Technologies to Provide 4,600 Free Home and Public Charging Stations

Locations for the ChargePoint America program. Click to enlarge.

Coulomb Technologies, in partnership with Ford, Chevrolet and smart USA, will provide 4,600 free home and public ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations for electric vehicles throughout the United States through the ChargePoint America program.

ChargePoint America will provide 4,600 Level II (220 – 240 volts) public and private ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations by October 2011 to program participants in nine regions in the United States: Austin, Texas; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; New York, New York; Orlando, Fla.; Sacramento, Calif.; the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area, California; Redmond, Wash.; and Washington DC.

Charging station installation, in most regions, will be paid for by the individual or station owner, according to Coulomb.

Coulomb will work together with its distribution and industry partners to evaluate the demand from the respective geographic regions and allocate charging stations based on this and other factors. The ChargePoint America project will collect data characterizing vehicle use and charging patterns, and Purdue University and Idaho National Labs will analyze the data.

The $37-million ChargePoint America program is made possible by a $15-million grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Transportation Electrification Initiative administered by the Department of Energy. ChargePoint charging stations are available now for installation in all nine designated regional metropolitan areas of the US.

(Three main factors went into the selection of the regions, Coulomb said. First, each region had to be on at least one of the participating automakers list of target regions where their vehicles will be for sale during the program period. Second, the regions themselves had to write a letter to support the grant proposal. Third, major metropolitan areas that were geographically dispersed were considered.)

More than 1,000 new public charging stations will be installed by December 2010, adding to the existing ChargePoint Network. The remaining stations will be installed by September 2011.

Any purchaser of a program electric vehicle (the Chevrolet Volt; the Ford Transit Connect and Ford Focus Electric; or the smart fortwo electric drive), whose home is located within one of the nine target regions, will be eligible to receive a home charging station at no cost. Homes must be within a 70-mile radius of a given city center to qualify. Individuals apply for the ChargePoint America program at the auto dealer or with the auto company where they purchase the new electric vehicle.

This grant will bring thousands of networked charging stations to nine US regions that are slated to receive the first electric vehicles from our automobile partners. These charging stations will build upon our already growing and established network of infrastructure and will accelerate the deployment of public and private charging infrastructure which will in turn encourage consumers to buy electric vehicles.

—Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies

Businesses interested in receiving public charging stations should visit the ChargePoint America web site and sign up by completing the application form. Individuals interested in purchasing an EV can sign up at www.chargepointamerica.com to receive more information about qualifying to receive a home charging station. Additionally, the ChargePoint America web site provides a way to suggest public locations for charging stations.

ChargePoint Network stations are network-enabled, capable of reporting energy usage and communicating over the network with Software Application Services and Network Support Services to activate capabilities such as:

• Providing open access for all drivers using any standards-based RFID card
• Generating revenue for station owners to offset electricity and maintenance costs
• Sending SMS or Email notifications to drivers for charging complete or interruptions in charging
• Controlling access to eliminate energy theft and to enhance safety
• Integrating with the utility Smart Grid for demand side management and preferred pricing

Charging stations owners can set their own prices for charging through the Flex Billing system. The Flex Billing system enables station owners to set pricing as a function of time of day, calendar date, and driver. Those same stations can also be configured to provide free access to EV drivers.

Coulomb currently has the largest established base of networked charging stations worldwide with more than 700 units shipped to more than 130 customers in 2009.

Source: Green Car Congress