Amsterdam and Bochum to offer cross-border billing and roaming
January 29, 2010 – 365 Energy and the cities of Amsterdam and Bochum have started operations of a novel, cross-country billing and roaming system. The platform allows for electric vehicles (EVs) to be charged in various European cities by using a single customer ID card issued by the municipalities. Due to the networked billing and roaming, EV users will not only be able to access ChargePoint™ Networked Charging Stations in Europe with the same ID, they will also receive an integrated invoice at the end of each billing period. There will be no extra charge for roaming, since these cities open their ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations for each other. In the near future, this will enable EV drivers to buy the electricity from their preferred provider.
The city of Amsterdam and the city of Bochum‘s public utility company Stadtwerke Bochum GmbH have been the first to install ChargePoint charging stations in the Netherlands and Germany, respectively, and are again front-runners to offer EV users this unique service. Other European cities, such as London and Lisbon and Milan are expected to follow.
Frost & Sullivan Accolade Underlines 365 Energy’s Credentials as Emerging European Electromobility Infrastructure Company
Frost & Sullivan today announced that it will present its ‘2009 European Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Emerging Company Award’ to 365 Energy Group, a leading European electromobility infrastructure company.
Charging infrastructure plays an important role as a success factor for the electric vehicle (EV) market as the unavailability of appropriate infrastructure could make customers reluctant to adopt EVs. It is important that charging infrastructure be installed rapidly so as to be fully functional and efficient by the time EVs arrive in large scale – possibly by 2011 - and attain the optimal ratio between supply and demand for charging infrastructure.
365 Energy is expected to be a leading supplier of this infrastructure in the EMEA regions (Europe, Middle East and Africa). The regions of North America and Europe are expected to be the major markets for EVs and therefore important potential ones for charging infrastructure.
“365 Energy Group differentiates itself from other charging stations manufacturers in Europe by having partnered with Coulomb Technologies, a major infrastructure manufacturer in the United States, to bring its technology to Europe,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Leonor Martinez. “Its unique vision of developing the infrastructure market in different stages ensures that it will have a coherent infrastructure by the time electric vehicles (EVs) reach the mass market.”
365 Energy’s ‘ChargePoint’ network consists of an operating system that connects charging stations operated by different providers and located in various countries. This allows charging station operators to manage both the payments for electricity as well as grid load. Therefore, 365 Energy´s solutions enable networked billing and roaming between individual countries and network operating centers.
“The company’s major product is a charging station for EVs that can be installed in public or private areas and allows one vehicle to be charged at a time,” explains Martinez. “The system is operated by a radio frequency identification (RFID) card that the user needs for identification as a subscriber.”
The present market for EV infrastructure is very challenging, as it is in the early stages of development. For small new businesses entering the market as infrastructure manufacturers, it is important to have a long-term vision and a coherent business plan.
“365 Energy presents a solid three stage development market plan – targeting the public sector, corporate fleets and private consumers - for its products that will focus on different types of customers in each stage before reaching the mass market,” states Martinez.
The company has already implemented its business strategy by creating partnerships and relationships with other organisations to supply charging infrastructure. For example, the company already has equipped the cities of Amsterdam and Bochum with infrastructure and also signed a new agreement with the Catholic High School of Limburg in Belgium. These actions are coherent with its business plan to target public institutions in the first stage.
The Frost & Sullivan Award for Emerging Company is presented each year to the company that has emerged as a significant participant within its industry. This company is perceived to have exhibited outstanding management, superior market growth, exceptional customer service and the ability to combine technology and successful strategic initiatives. This company has the exceptional know-how to take advantage of market changes through the execution of innovative strategies within the existing competitive landscape.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.
This week, Norwegian energy supplier Eidsiva commenced operation of the first ‘intelligent’ charging station for electric vehicles in Gjøvik (Oppland Province), which is supplied by global market leader Coulomb Technologies. Apart from the one in Gjøvik, Coulomb’s European sales partner, the 365 Energy Group, will install another three ChargePoint™ stations in Lillehammer and Hamar.
The owner and operator of the charging stations is Eidsiva Vekst AS who is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eidsiva Energi AS. Eidsiva Energi is one of Norway’s largest energy corporations, and has its head-office in Hamar. Eidsiva Energi has over 900 employees.
365 Energy Group today announced the first German installation of ChargePoint(tm) networked charging stations.On Monday, the public utilities in Bochum activated five charging stations from global market leader Coulomb Technologies, which were installed by distribution partner 365 Energy Group.The ChargePoint charging stations ensure that in the future electric vehicles can easily be ”fuelled” in the Ruhr area metropolis.
After testing three suppliers, the public utility Bochum decided in favour of the Coulomb’s ChargePoint charging stations.
“Setting up the charging stations is a first step in the expansion of electric mobility and the appendant infrastructure”, said public utilities principal Bernd Wilmert. “Within the campaign Bochum becomes e-mobile.” Wilmert introduced the charging stations involvement in during ruhrmobil-E, a regional association of industry, economy, politics and research.
One charging station has been installed on the customer parking lots at the headquarters of the public utilities.Another charging station is located at the housing association VBW in the Matthias-Claudius-Straße. The locations of the other two ChargePoints stations are have not been firmly determined.
365-Energy today announced that the Catholic University College Limburg (KHLim) will deploy ChargePoint™ Networked Charging stations from the world leading infrastructure manufacturer Coulomb Technologies as part of the first European Clean Mobility Center in Belgium. Coulomb’s international partner 365-Energy (www.365-energy.com) will provide the charging stations and manage the ChargePoint Network for subscribers. KHLim’s CO2 neutral area produces its own green energy through wind, heat and solar. KHLim also has its own energy grid to which the ChargePoint charging stations are connected.
The charging stations will be used for electrical vehicles which are owned by iNet, the research institute of KHLim. As part of the project, KHLim will acquire several electrical vehicles, such as bikes, scooters, motorbikes and cars, which will be rented to the general public at the University campus. The objective of the Clean Mobility Center is to create awareness with municipalities and corporations by demonstrating the solution and offering expertise.
“As a first class Clean Mobility Center we were looking for a first class charging infrastructure,” said Ludo Rutten, Valorization Manager at iNet. “Coulomb’s charging stations provide us with an innovative solution that will help accelerate the adoption of electrical vehicles. Besides deploying the technology, we partner with 365-Energy to develop a brand new e-mobility curriculum in Belgium.”
365-Energy Group today announced that the city of Amsterdam has selected the ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations of world leading infrastructure provider Coulomb Technologies to fuel the electrical cars in the city. The 45 charging stations are part of a two-year public demonstration project. The City of Amsterdam plans to deploy 200 charging stations before 2012, and the charging stations are expected to fuel 10,000 electric cars in 2015. Leading energy company Nuon will provide renewable energy for the charging stations and Coulomb's international partner 365-Energy (http://www.365-energy.com) will manage the ChargePoint Network for subscribers.
"We are proud to announce our first European deployment of Coulomb's ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations, "said Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies. "Less than two months ago we announced the formation of our EMEA headquarters and now the city of Amsterdam will have the largest network of smart charging stations in Europe for fleet and consumer charging. Coulomb is providing an inclusive open architecture so that all electric vehicle owners in Amsterdam can easily make the switch from gasoline to electricity as a fuel."
365 Energy Group provides intelligent charging stations for electrical vehicles along with innovative services. Hybrid and other plug-in vehicle owners are given easy access to a broad network of charging stations. These ChargePoints, installed in public and private parking lots, offer battery charging services for electrical vehicle owners.
This charging station network developed by Coulomb Technologies, an American partner company, is the first networked charging station solution that provides a sustainable business model for “filling up“ electric vehicles. The ChargePoint Network provides several web services to meet the demand of all key players, from individual car owners to entire communities and from electricity providers to car manufacturers and fleet owners.
In contrast to other providers, 365 Energy manages to create not just a network of charging stations, but instead offers a complete infrastructure for the future of plug-in vehicles. This infrastructure paves the way for the spread of electric vehicle usage, and with that a reduced commercial dependence on oil.
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