Coulomb Technologies ships more than 2,400 public and commercial charging stations in ChargePoint America Program

Coulomb Technologies has shipped more than 2,400 public and commercial charging stations for electric vehicles through its $37-million ChargePoint America program. Coulomb says it has seen strong demand in all 10 regions of the program and is finalizing the installation of charging stations within these regions.

The ChargePoint America program is made possible by a $15-million matching grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Transportation Electrification Initiative administered by the Department of Energy.

Coulomb’s ChargePoint America program provides approximately 4,500 charging stations to program participants in ten regions in the United States: Austin/San Antonio, Texas, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando/Tampa, Sacramento, Calif., San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area, Redmond/Bellevue, Wash., Washington DC/Baltimore, Southern Michigan (including Grand Rapids, Lansing, Ann Arbor and Detroit).

The program is a strategic partnership between Coulomb and six leading automobile brands: Ford, Chevrolet, smart USA, BMW, Nissan and Fisker Automotive.

Any purchaser of a program electric vehicle (Chevrolet Volt, Ford Transit Connect, Ford Focus Electric, BMW ActiveE, Nissan LEAF, smart fortwo electric drive or Fisker Karma), whose home is located within one of the ten target regions, may be eligible to receive a home charging station at no cost. Similar to the commercial and public stations, the residential charge stations are connected to the ChargePoint Network and data is being collected to understand the infrastructure utilization.

Source: Green Car Congress

350Green to install more than 400 ChargePoint Network Charging Stations for EVs across US

350Green and Coulomb Technologies will extend the reach of both companies’ technologies and services. 350Green has agreed to purchase and install more than 400 charging stations across the country powered by the ChargePoint Network, further growing the largest network of independently-owned charging stations. (Earlier post.)

350Green will also utilize ChargePoint Network cloud-based EV charging solutions to manage its national network, including charging stations from its other manufacturer partners.

Coulomb says the ChargePoint Network is the largest online network of electric vehicle charging stations and drivers.

350Green is building out a national network of more than 1,000 charging stations, with projects under way in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, and California. The company is installing both Level 2 and DC Fast chargers in convenient locations through partnerships with retailers like Walgreens and real estate developers like Simon Property Group.

This is a significant expansion of our ChargePoint Network as 350Green has chosen to exclusively utilize ChargePoint Network to deliver services to its customers.

—Pat Romano, president and CEO at Coulomb

Source: Green Car Congress

Chevrolet to offer Coulomb Technologies EV charging stations to Chevrolet dealerships

Chevrolet will offer Coulomb’s ChargePoint electric vehicle (EV) charging stations for use at its US Chevrolet dealerships in support of the arrival of the Volt.

SPX Corporation, Chevrolet’s home charging installation partner, will deliver and install hundreds of Level II 240V ChargePoint charging stations to the Chevrolet dealers. Coulomb has already shipped ChargePoint charging stations to hundreds of customers worldwide, including its first Chevrolet dealership in Irvine, Calif.

Additionally, Chevrolet has installed Coulomb ChargePoint networked charging stations in front of their corporate headquarters in Detroit for use by employees and guests.

Michigan-based Meijer installing EV charging stations at stores

Meijer, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based supercenter chain, plans to install electric vehicle charging stations at several of its Michigan stores. The first charging station was unveiled at the Meijer store in Warren, Michigan (not far from the GM Tech Center), and will be followed by stores in Allen Park and Holland, Michigan. Each store will receive two charging stations which can be used by Meijer customers at no cost.

The plug-in charging stations are manufactured by Coulomb Technologies and provide Level 1 and Level 2 options, and meet the SAE J1772 standard adopted by automakers.

Meijer is obtaining the charging stations through Roseville, Mich.-based Shocking Solutions, a provider of plug-in vehicle infrastructure solutions and consulting. Shocking Solutions is the Midwest’s exclusive distribution partner for Coulomb Technologies. Installation of the units is being handled by Waterford, Mich.-based ChargeNow.

The purchase and installation of these units represents an investment of nearly $100,000 by Meijer. In 2011, Meijer plans to expand this initiative by installing additional charging stations in 10 to 20 more stores throughout the Midwest.

Meijer operates 195 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

Source: Green Car Congress

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