Coulomb to Bring 150 Public ChargePoint Stations for Electric Vehicles to Boston Metro; Announces Partnership with BMW for the ActiveE
BOSTON July 22, 2011 – Coulomb Technologies, Inc today announced the expansion of the ChargePoint® Network into the Boston Metro area with more than 150 stations for electric vehicles. The stations are made available to the State through Coulomb’s $37 million ChargePoint America Department of Energy program. The stations will be located in the Boston metropolitan area, primarily within the Route 495 Beltway. Additionally, Coulomb is partnering with BMW for the Boston release of their new ActiveE all-electric vehicle. Drivers of the BMW ActiveE can easily and conveniently fuel their electric vehicle (EV) at any ChargePoint-enabled electric vehicle charging station in the US as well as access ChargePoint Network’s 24/7 driver support and mobile phone applications, which include station location and real-time availability, turn-by-turn navigation, and charging status.
The ChargePoint America program is being celebrated at an event on Friday, July 22, 2011 at 10:15 am at the Lexington Battle Green at the junction of Massachusetts Avenue and Bedford Street (Rt. 4/22). Speaking at the event are Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr., ChargePoint America Director Scott Miller and IBEW Local 103 Martin Aikens.
Based upon the popular BMW 1 Series Coupe, the new ActiveE complies with the SAE J1772TM connector standard, which is compatible with all North American charging stations on the ChargePoint Network. Utilities, service providers, corporations, fleets and other station owners use the ChargePoint Network cloud-based service plans for mission critical EV charging requirements such as access control, user authentication, billing, reporting, network management and grid-load management. EV drivers benefit from ChargePoint mobile apps, (iPhone, Blackberry and Android) mapping services and driver support services. Businesses wishing to apply for free public ChargePoint America stations in Massachusetts can do so by visiting http://www.chargepointamerica.com.
“Placing these state-of-the-art charging stations in cities and towns across Massachusetts supports the Administration’s clean energy agenda – augmenting our nation-leading efforts in the areas of green jobs, Green Communities, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray said. “Our administration is pleased to partner with the Obama Administration and Coulomb Technologies on this initiative, and we look forward to seeing this innovative resource support municipalities as they embrace new clean transportation options.”
Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. said, “I am excited that the Commonwealth is part of this revolution in transportation. Our communities have come forward in partnership with local business, colleges and employers to find highly visible, well-utilized locations where owners of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles could charge their vehicles. Through these public-private partnerships, we are ensuring that ‘green’ transportation options will be a reality in cities and towns throughout the state.”
“We are pleased to be a part of the ChargePoint America program. Access to such a well established network will provide a significant measure of convenience for drivers of the ActiveE,” said Rich Steinberg, Manager – Electric Vehicle Operations and Strategy for BMW of North America. “Our drivers can feel confident that they can easily locate and recharge at any of the publically accessible ChargePoint-enabled stations in the United States. Partnerships like this one with Coulomb will reinforce the viability of EVs for daily transportation as we’ve already proven with the MINI E.”
Coulomb’s ChargePoint America program will provide nearly 5,000 charging stations to program participants in ten regions in the United States: Austin, 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, Detroit). The program is a strategic partnership between Coulomb and four leading automobile brands: Ford, Chevrolet, smart USA and BMW. Installation of the ChargePoint charging stations is currently underway in all regions. Businesses interested in free public ChargePoint stations can visit http://www.chargepointamerica.com to apply.
About ChargePoint America
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 America will provide 4,600 public and home ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations adding to the existing ChargePoint Network. 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. Idaho National Labs will analyze the data. www.chargepointamerica.com
