More charging stations for electric cars coming in Singapore

Christopher Tan, Straits Times 29 Apr 10;

THE drive to put electric cars on Singapore's roads has moved up a gear, with the Government seeking proposals from vendors for a network of charging stations to be ready by end-November.

The invitation was posted on the government e-commerce site Gebiz last Friday.

In it, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) - the lead agency of an electric vehicle trial here - is looking to build up to 63 charging stations across the island, with three of them capable of quick charging.

Quick charging stations refer to those that can recharge an electric car within 30 minutes, as opposed to six to 12 hours for 'normal' charging kiosks.

The EMA is looking to have the first 20 normal stations and one quick-charging station up and running by November this year. The rest will be rolled out progressively over the next couple of years.

The Government has set aside $20 million to study the robustness, cost-effectiveness and environmental impact of electric- powered vehicles in a tropical environment such as Singapore's.

For the trial, registration taxes and certificates of entitlement for these vehicles have been waived. The tax break, which is extended to other new-tech vehicles such as plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell cars (with the number capped at 1,300), is expected to cost $75 million in tax revenue.

The EMA's request for proposals is the first concrete step towards rolling out the trial since it was announced last May. Back then, the agency envisioned the first cars to be running by the middle of this year.

The agency expects to award a tender to build the charging network by June. It is looking at costs involved in developing the system, including maintenance expenditure up to the end of 2016. By then, the network is to be handed over to the EMA.

It is exploring various types of charging systems and billing systems. For the latter, users may be billed monthly, or on the spot, via smart cards such as the CashCard and ez-link card.

Industry players welcome the EMA's move.

Mr Oliver Risse, managing director of electric vehicle charging infrastructure provider Greenlots, said: 'It took a bit of time, but it's good to see there is now traction.'

He said Greenlots is keen to take part in the exercise.

Mr Risse said charging stations in Germany typically cost $5,000 to $10,000, and expects expenditure here to be in the same ballpark. Greenlots has already set up 10 electric vehicle charging points in Singapore. Locations include Parkway Parade, Singapore Polytechnic, Ikea Tampines, Alexandra and Swiss Club.

They are used by five motorbikes and one car - the only electric vehicles here so far. Currently, owners use the points for free 'because there aren't many electric vehicles here', explained Mr Risse.

Mr Michael Magura, managing director of new tech consultancy group Clean Tech Agency, described the request for proposals as 'an important first step'.

Mitsubishi dealer Cycle & Carriage, which is supplying the first batch of trial electric cars here, is also looking forward to the charging stations.

'They'd be just in time for the arrival of the cars,' said C&C senior manager Edmund Gin, adding that the company has placed a tentative order for 30 Mitsubishi i-MiEVs, a small hatchback capable of 140kmh and a range of around 100km.