“In the past year, Coulomb has been traveling emission-free at warp speed,” said Richard Lowenthal CEO of Coulomb Technologies. “Coulomb has installed infrastructure worldwide through a distribution network available in all 50 states and in much of Europe through our partner company, 365 Energy. In January, the City of San Jose, Calif. became the first installation of Coulomb’s charging stations, and by the end of 2009 we expect to have shipped 1000 stations. While sales are booming, we are excited about our new initiatives, and important new services for the benefit of drivers, station owners and utilities.”
First year Coulomb milestones include:
* Fleet Charging: Fleet charging stations are currently being used in Sonoma County, San Francisco and Amsterdam. In February, 2009 San Francisco became the first city in the world to install networked charging stations for the City of San Francisco fleet, City CarShare and Zipcar fleet vehicles. Today these fleet charging stations located in front of City Hall are the most used of all charging stations on the ChargePoint(sm) Network.
Working closely with the County of Sonoma’s fleet staff, Coulomb engineers developed advanced features within its Fleet Portal that will pave the way for mass adoption of electric vehicles for fleets by providing the ability to manage and optimize fleet vehicles. For example, in Sonoma County, fleet managers can now easily track, monitor and export usage data on a per-charging-session basis with information including start/stop time and duration, kWh, driver, vehicle, GHG emission savings, and the checking-in and out of electric fleet vehicles. Notification is also available if a vehicle is not returned (or plugged in) by a designated time, and when a car is completely charged.
“With 63 million passenger fleet vehicles polluting the air every day in North America the fleets are going to need a fully integrated solution of vehicles and charging infrastructure,” said Jay Giraud CEO of Rapid Electric Vehicles. “These new fleets are going to need convenient charging stations to meet the mandates for clean air emission standards. We are excited to be working with a market leader like Coulomb to bring Level 2 charging to fleets with our REV Pack solution which transforms in-service gasoline fleet vehicles into 100 percent electric vehicles.”
* Advanced Open Architecture: Coulomb’s charging network is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles with an architecture that has been developed by an engineering staff with its roots in networking and advanced client server architectures. The ChargePoint Network has the ability to individually control each charging station in real time. Advanced features include authorization and authentication via an integrated RFID reader. The reader recognizes and identifies ChargePoint Network Smart Cards, RFID credit cards and authorization smart cards from other charging systems. Drivers have the option of paying for a single charging session by placing a toll free call to the 24/7 number on each charging station. Or, they can become a ChargePoint Network subscriber by going to www.mychargepoint.net and choosing a monthly subscription plan that fits their lifestyle. In 2010, coinciding with the introduction of mainstream EVs, the ChargePoint Network will accept both Visa PayWave™ and MasterCard PayPass™ credit and debit cards as a way to pay for charging sessions.
* Smart home charging for consumers: Coulomb is currently developing a networked charging station for the home. The product will support all plug-in electric vehicles utilizing the J1772™ standard. This product will allow drivers to take advantage of Time-Of-Use (TOU) rates, provide easy home charging with real-time charging status on Google Maps, and notify drivers by SMS and email on charging status and exception conditions. Coulomb is working closely with automakers on this smart home charging station product designed to support high availability and low fueling costs via remote management, Smart Grid integration and V2G readiness.
* Partnerships: In the past year, Coulomb has engaged in technology partnerships including GridPoint for the first ever Smart Grid enabled smart charging stations for EVs. In addition to Smart Grid integration, the first networked solar powered charging station for EVs was announced by Coulomb partner Carbon Day (April, 2009) and the world’s first Green McDonald’s featuring ChargePoint charging stations that opened in Cary, North Carolina (through Coulomb partner NovaCharge).
* Customers, customers and more customers: Forward thinking government agencies and businesses all over the world are supporting clean air and domestic fuels by installing networking charging stations. Coulomb currently has more than 57 customers worldwide. From corporations including the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, Calif., to Coulomb’s latest unveiling via DMC Green at the first green gas station in West Sacramento, Coulomb’s charging stations are taking root.
Coulomb and GridPoint Unveil First Smart Grid Enabled Smart Charging Station for Electric Vehicles
Integrated Technologies for Utilities and Municipalities Showcased at Plug-in 2009 Conference
GridPoint, Inc., an established leader in smart grid software, and Coulomb Technologies today unveiled the first ever smart grid enabled smart charging stations for electric vehicles. The integrated solution using Coulomb’s ChargePoint™ Networked Charging Stations for plug-in electric vehicles and GridPoint’s smart charging software application extends municipalities and utilities ability to manage vehicle-charging load. Utilities and municipalities will now have a networked infrastructure solution that easily and rapidly adapts to critical grid events while prioritizing the need to provide fuel for electric vehicles. In times of peak demand or during critical grid events, utilities are able to utilize public charging infrastructure to manage the electricity load. Demand response events can be dispatched system-wide or targeted to specific locations within the distribution system. The first integrated solution of smart grid charging stations are now on display for demonstration at the Plug-in 2009 conference in Long Beach, California in booths 215 (Coulomb) and 409 (GridPoint).
“This announcement brings significant benefits and advances the EV infrastructure,” said Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies. “Coulomb’s charging stations are first to market with a smart grid integration that is effortless for drivers and responsive to the needs of the grid. GridPoint is extending the proven smart charging capabilities of the ChargePoint(sm) Network and this integrated solution now provides a single solution to adaptively manage the flow of energy to vehicles and charging stations.”
At the Plug-in 2009 show, Coulomb and GridPoint are demonstrating real-time smart charging activity enabled via GridPoint’s smart grid software for electric vehicles and Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network. This flexible, centralized integration allows easy implementation of smart charging strategies. The solution also provides utilities and municipalities with a charging infrastructure solution that easily adapts to the still developing electric vehicle ecosystem.
“For over two years, GridPoint software has been used by utilities to dynamically dispatch plug-in vehicle charging load in response to real-time grid conditions. Our work with Austin Energy, Seattle City Light, Duke Energy and others has provided the smart charging expertise that we are happy to extend to EVSE charging infrastructure in readiness for the arrival of the next generation of vehicles,” said John Clark, Electric Vehicle Management, GridPoint.
Coulomb Technologies charging stations are used in municipalities, utilities, green office buildings and parking garages and to allow consumers to charge their electric vehicles wherever they live, work and shop. Consumers subscribe to the ChargePoint Network and receive a ChargePoint Smart Card that allows them to charge their car at any charging station worldwide.
About GridPoint
GridPoint, Inc., an established leader in smart grid software, enables utilities to easily manage the transformation to a Smart Grid. GridPoint’s software aggregates and manages an intelligent network of distributed energy resources that controls load, stores energy and produces power. Utilities efficiently balance supply and demand, improve grid reliability and empower consumers with user-friendly software to manage energy consumption. Utilities and consumers realize the benefits of energy intelligence with GridPoint’s solutions including energy management, load management, renewable integration, storage management and electric vehicle management. With GridPoint’s interoperable platform, utilities rapidly integrate and manage emerging technologies, resulting in a practical path to developing a clean, efficient 21st century grid. On the Net: www.gridpoint.com
Coulomb Technologies Announces Nashville as Latest City to Install Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles
ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations Installed in New Downtown Parking Garage
Coulomb Technologies, the leader in charging station infrastructure, today announced that the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County is the first municipality in the State of Tennessee to install and deploy ChargePoint™ Networked Charging Stations for plug-in electric vehicles. The charging stations are now installed in downtown Nashville in the new 700 space parking garage located on the Fulton Campus. The charging stations, available for employee and fleet use have been installed to reduce greenhouse emissions and to raise awareness of readiness for electric vehicles. Coulomb distributor Green Power Technology, www.GPTechnology.com the exclusive distributor in the northeast U.S. for the ChargePoint Network charging stations, provided sales and support for this installation.
"Networked charging stations for plug-in vehicles in Nashville brings music to our ears," said Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies. "Nashville is laying the groundwork for the future of clean and alternative energy in Tennessee. These charging stations not only create awareness for electric vehicles and their necessary infrastructure, but will give employees of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County a new destination choice for charging their vehicle."
"These charging stations support Mayor Dean’s vision to make Nashville the greenest and most livable city in the Southeast. Our hope is that businesses across Nashville and Davidson County will see what we’re doing and implement similar practices." said Nancy Whittemore, Director of General Services.
Coulomb Technologies charging stations are used in municipalities, utilities, green office buildings and parking garages and to allow consumers to charge their electric vehicles wherever they live, work and shop. Consumers subscribe to the ChargePoint(sm) Network and receive a ChargePoint Smart Card that allows them to charge their car at any charging station worldwide, now including Nashville. The ChargePoint Network enabled charging stations provide:
* Notification by SMS Text or email when charging is complete
* The ability for drivers to find unoccupied charging stations via web-enabled cell phones
* Authenticated access to eliminate energy theft
* Authorized energizing for safety
* Remote monitoring and diagnostics for superior quality of service
* Smart Grid integration for utility load management with future V2G capabilities
To locate available charging stations, visit www.mychargepoint.net and click “Find Stations”.
About Coulomb Technologies, Inc.
Coulomb Technologies headquartered in Campbell, Calif., offers a family of products and services that provide a plug-in vehicle charging infrastructure, which includes ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations ranging in capability from 120V 16A to 240V 80A AC charging to future 120kW DC charging. Coulomb applies networking technology to the challenge of charging electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in order to fuel the electric transportation industry. Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network www.mychargepoint.net addresses the needs of drivers, utilities, governments, and parking space owners. Follow Coulomb on Twitter at twitter.com/coulombevi.
www.coulombtech.com/
