Coulomb partners with Ford, Chevy, Smart to deliver 4,600 free EV charging stations in US
By Sean Hollister 
posted June 4th 2010 6:25PM
posted June 4th 2010 6:25PM
Coulomb Technologies to Create Electric Vehicle Infrastructure in Nine Regions by Offering No Cost Home and Public Charging Stations as Part of a $37 Million Project
Coulomb's ChargePoint America Program Expands the Largest Networked Infrastructure for EVs in the World: Immediate Installation in Nine US Regions
Campbell, Calif., June 2, 2010 – Coulomb Technologies today announced it will deliver free home and public ChargePoint® Networked Charging Stations for electric vehicles throughout the United States. The ChargePoint America program will provide nearly 5000 charging stations to program participants in nine regions in the United States: Austin, Texas, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Fla., Sacramento, Calif., the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area, Redmond, Wash., and Washington DC and is a strategic partnership with three leading automobile brands including, Ford, Chevrolet and smart USA. 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. Installation of the ChargePoint charging stations for electric vehicles will begin immediately.
The $37 million ChargePoint America program is made possible by a $15M 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. More than 1000 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.
In support of the ChargePoint America program, three automakers have committed to deliver electric vehicles in designated US regions. The Chevrolet Volt, the Ford Transit Connect Electric and Ford Focus Electric through the "Ford Blue Oval ChargePoint Program", and the smart fortwo electric drive will be introduced along with this program.
"The Obama Administration has set significant and considerable goals for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles in the coming years," said Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies. "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. Our Department of Energy grant, also known as the stimulus bill, was funded to provide jobs for Americans. Our products are built and installed with American labor. Every time we ship a ChargePoint charging station, three Americans go to work for a day."
ChargePoint America will offer both home and public charging stations to individuals and businesses. 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 - much like a parking meter. Those same stations can also be configured to provide "free" access to EV drivers.
Coulomb's ChargePoint® Network, is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and provides authentication, management, and real-time control for the networked electric vehicle charging stations. The network of electric vehicle charging stations is accessible to all plug-in drivers by making a toll free call to the 24/7 number on each charging station, or signing up for a ChargePoint Network monthly access plan and obtaining a ChargePass™ smart card. Other future payment options include using any smart (RFID) credit/debit card to authorize a session or using a standard credit or debit card at a remote payment station (RPS) to pay for charging sessions. To locate available charging stations, visit mychargepoint.net and click "Find Stations".
About ChargePoint America
ChargePoint America will provide 4,600 public and private ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations by October 2011. 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. For more program information visit www.chargepointamerica.com.
About Coulomb Technologies, Inc.
Coulomb Technologies is the leader in electric vehicle charging station infrastructure with networked charging stations installed in municipalities and organizations worldwide. Coulomb provides a vehicle-charging infrastructure, with an open system driver network: the ChargePoint Network (www.mychargepoint.net) provides multiple web-based portals for Hosts, Fleet managers, Drivers, and Utilities, and ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations ranging in capability from 120 Volt to 240 Volt AC charging and up to 500 Volt DC charging. For more information, follow Coulomb on Twitter at twitter.com/coulombevi. To request a charging station in your area, visit www.mychargepoint.net/request-station.php. To download the ChargePoint iPhone App, click here.
this is better than what nissan is doing, where you have to pay 2000 for a charger, then negotiate the price for the car.
@BrianH
You need to read the fine print. Yes, the charger installation for the Leaf can cost up to $2000, but there is a $2K federal tax credit to offset the cost, and some states also have tax rebates. Net cost to the average Leaf owner -- $0.
@Ed T
I just wish the Leaf wasn't so weird looking.
Now, the Tesla cars are cool ... but they're just so new.
@Ed T
Sure, some states it's fine.
but in most states, having to pay for the damn thing (some out of your pocket) before you know what you might be paying for the car if you accept, is bullshit.
@BrianH
What would really spread these green charging stations around the country is green in its purest form-- money. If installing one of these meant you could actually own a private charging station, then I think a lot more people would be bundling these with some solar panels and making their own renewable money. It'd be a great way to foment private installation of renewable energy and an even greater follow up on that concept of pushing energy back into the grid when you are producing more than you're consuming.
Oil spills? What about electricity spills much more dangerous.
@Alexpeegs
But didn't you hear Stephen Colbert? Those that survive electrocution become immune to electricity.
Cross country roadtri...oh...
Boy, I hope that charging station in Seattle isn't solar powered. Maybe they should move that station to Colorado...
/shameless plug
@Dante of the Inferno
What I want to know is ... why would there be a charging station in Texas? For visitors passing through?
@Meekermoloko
Ever hear of Houston or Dallas? Yeah there are millions of people there. Thanks for playing.
@jeff0529
Sorry, I thought most people in Texas hate electric vehicles since it hurts their economy.
I think that push pin is closer to Austin anyway.
@Meekermoloko
I don't see the electric car impacting the economy in the near future.
@jeff0529 Um I am almost positive that's College Station, Texas (Texas A&M). It's definitely not Austin, Dallas, or Houston. Also please don't stereotype us Texans, we're much better than you think, and more "eco-friendly" than you think as well.
@RndmPplPrsn
I know. I apologize.
I'm just sick of the "Drill, Baby, Drill" chanting.
@Meekermoloko
Sarah Palin is from Alaska.
@Dante of the Inferno More than 90% of Washington State's power generation is 0 emission. We don't need solar power. We have massive hydro-electric dams and nuclear.
@jeff0529 Then you must be blind.
The award for the most tags on an article goes to...
what an utter waste of money.
@Mr Pips I know what's the point in using energy that can be derived from non-fossil fuels, that won't be critical for at least another 20 years when all the fossil fuels run out! Furthermore, we'll miss out on all those cool apocalyptic movie scenes in the future.
@d0mth0ma5
We won't run out of oil anytime soon and possibly never.
@Mr Pips
We've already run out of the oil that's easy to get at, hence the recent spill.
@Zamboro
Uhhh, no. Actually we've been regulated out of drilling for oil that's easy to get and forced further away from shore (read deeper)...hence the recent oil spill. How about not drilling in the ocean at all...how out developing the 50 year supply of shale that can be had on land!
@Mr Pips http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves#Estimated_reserves_by_country - The top 17 producers will run out in an average of 54 years based on CURRENT consumption and estimated reserves. China has increased oil consumption 28% from Jan 09 to Jan 10 and is already consuming about 9% of the global amount. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8563985.stm)
@d0mth0ma5
You forgot to capitalize "estimated", which is an important word because the people who estimate oil reserves have been proven wrong more times than Al Gore.
@Mr Pips
You're fooling yourself. The rest of the world is quickly catching up to the US and their oil demands are going to be far greater than ours. You have no clue as to the facts.
@Mr Pips
An argument based on an estimate is stronger than an argument based on nothing.
@enoughcongress
How about we use that oil to fuel the construction of new nuclear power plants, solar and wind farms, and electric vehicles so that by the time we run out of oil we won't need it anymore? Crazy idea, huh?
Your tax dollars at work... and not poisoning the Gulf.
(Yes, you do pay subsidies to BP, Texaco, etc even when they are making more in profits than most corporations combined.)
I don't think I'd buy an electric car until they can fully recharge it in under five minutes.
See you in 2020.
@Meekermoloko
They can, it's called battery swapping, one of the features in the Tesla model S.
@Zamboro
Yeah ... I'm not sure if I like that idea. What if you pick up someone's bad batteries that hold only a quarter of a charge?
I dunno, maybe they figured that out already.
@Meekermoloko you might think differently if gas prices continue to go up and electric car prices continue to go down.
me? I'll keep the motorcycle. cheap as heck.
@fyrebug
Yeah, but I live in an apartment complex right now, so Hybrid for me this decade ... Electric next decade, but hopefully sooner....
@fyrebug True if you don't mind having your body parts collected from both sides of the freeway:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/06/northbound-lanes-of-5-freeway-in-norwalk-reopened-after-fatal-motorcycle-crash.html
Almost every person I know who rides regularly has crashed. FYI I used to make and sell motorcycle accessories, so I know quite a few. My brother also used to race professionally and almost had his leg amputated after one crash. My point being, the safety of a bike doesn't even put it into a category comparable to EV's and cars in general.
@Meekermoloko
You don't understand, the car owner does not also own the batteries. The company does, you just pay a per-mile fee (8 cents) to use it, so they're responsible for all the maintinence and eventual replacement. It's handled the same way that blue rhino propane exchange does it.
@Meekermoloko
Hybrid's a good way to go. You can always slowly save up for extra batteries and convert it to a plug-in hybrid over time.
@Zamboro
On a 12,000 miles per year average you are paying $960 to use the damn batteries + electricity?
@Meekermoloko Meekerloko must be one of the users with the highest stupidity/words ratio ever
Um, yeah, you first. I like being able to carry an extra fiver of petrol in the back, just in case. I guess I could carry 5280 feet of extension cord with me when I travel the back roads.
Oh wait, that would make the car way an extra 2000 lbs., reducing range even further. My bad. Good idea not quite ready for prime time.
Seriously, our country is broke broke. Like every expenditure is on borrowed Chinese cash. This is a freaking joke. Don't think Rockefeller needed any tax-payer dollars to create an empire.
Joke. Al Gore and the tree huggers who endorse this stuff on the tax payers dime, should be ashamed. I'm all for clean, but this is just us tax payers funding other private industries. And I'm all for private business, they don't need to get our money to get rich, though.
@Dank Dillweed
Why have you let political extremism make you unreceptive to crucial technological advances? Don't you see how you're politicizing what should be an objectively sensible move? When your views make you intensely anti-progress, it's time to reevaluate them.
@Dank Dillweed clearly what america needs is more oil drilling! dude, you should like OMG like totally be in charge right? you could put all those damn hippies in there place.
@Dank Dillweed
Just like we give billions in tax breaks to the fucking oil companies
@DefPoet
Since you're so filled with intelligence and logic, I present this.
How many people earn a GOOD living off the oil industry? I am in the print business, half tech, half old-school production. The avg wage of everyone involved at my corp is slightly above 50k. That includes illegals packing boxes at $15/hr, and tech people making $120, with pressman (ahem, blue collar, HS grads, earning $80-100k).
Then, think about the people who deliver paper, gas, chemicals, ink, gast, even the tech equipment! Those good people are providing a service, that has demand, and providing a good living for their children.
Oil isn't bad. Is it a perfect industry? Of course not, but I dare one, ONE of you people who condemned what I said, to name an industry that doesn't have someone/something that ends up being exploited. Go ahead, I'm waiting geniuses.
I'm all for electric, that is, until it's cheaper, and has less environmental impact. Where the hell is the electricity begotten from? Huh? Let's see, coal-mining, nuclear, hydro (go ask Mexico how the Colorado looks nowadays? GO, you morons.).
We'll get there someday. Until then, I'd rather have my hard-earned cash going to fund the next generation of engineers and scientists. Which, we are lacking in. Um, how many engineers for US corps. have Indian names? C'mon, tell me I'm wrong. You can't, cause you're just ideologues who listen to the vapid rhetoric spewing from teachers who have never worked in industry, and have no clue how global economics work.
I am so worried about my children and our country's future, with close minded, ignorant, intolerant views such as these expressed here.
Good luck, slackers, good luck. At least my house, investments, and cash will get me to my dirt nap. You guys are screwed. China will run this country, and you'll be a moronic pawn in the game.
@Dank Dillweed
Oooooohhh the irony of you calling somebody else close-minded, ignorant and intolerant.
SIGH
I have phones on my mind. I definitely originally read the title as "Coulomb partners with Ford, Chevy, Smart to deliver 4,600 free EVO charging stations in US." I thought, well, I guess 4G's a bitch.
And still I'd love that phone. KISS MY BABY.
want one in my future garage!
The best news that I've heard all week! Right on! (fist raised in salute)
Perhaps capitalism works after all . . .