The primary challenge to a massive EV rollout in America is
the limits of charging infrastructure. Coulomb Technologies is working with
Ford, Chevrolet and smart USA to answer this challenge by providing free home
charging units. This ChargePoint America Program is using a federal grant to
distribute 4,600 charging stations to consumers in nine regions. Coulomb Technologies
plans to install about 1,000 public charging units by December with remaining
units delivered to homeowners in fall 2011.
Coulomb Technologies is using a $15 million grant under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to offset the program’s $37 million price
tag. Coulomb will work with Purdue University and Idaho National Lab to collect
charging information from each unit. Consumers who choose the Chevy Volt, the
Ford Transit Connect, the Ford Focus Electric and the smart fortwo are eligible
for a Coulomb charging unit. Dealerships in Austin, Detroit, Los Angeles, New
York City, Orlando, Sacramento, San Jose, Redmond and Washington D.C. will
accept applications for the program. An applicant must live within 70 miles of
any of these cities to be fully considered for the program.
Careful consideration was given by program partners in
choosing the aforementioned target regions. Ford, Chevrolet and smart USA
provided a list of its target markets to Coulomb Technologies, which factored
into the final selections. Every city listed by the automakers had to submit a
letter supporting their candidacy and explaining why they should participate in
ChargePoint America. Coulomb Technologies also considered even distribution of
its nine regional markets to ensure that consumers nationwide could gain access
to these units.
EV drivers chosen for this program will pay for the costs of
installing their charging units. At the end of the trial period, drivers own
the Coulomb ChargePoint units without additional maintenance fees. As Coulomb
Technologies units are distributed, consumers will be exposed to the
possibilities of EV charging in the future. The ChargePoint Network will use features
like email notifications, access control and smart charging to simplify the EV
replenishment process. The ChargePoint America Program is an important way for
private industry and the federal government to kick start development of an EV
infrastructure.
