Jeremy Au Yong Straits Times 9 Oct 10;
THE programme to put electric vehicles (EVs) on Singapore roads will pass a milestone next year, when the first lot of 26 charging stations are installed.
German firm Bosch has been appointed to set up the network of these stations, with the first expected up and running by March, said the inter-agency task force in charge the EV test-bed programme yesterday.
By the end of next year, 63 stations will be up. They will charge the battery-powered Mitsubishi i-MiEVs, due to be brought in for testing at that time.
The task force, comprising officials from the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and a slew of ministries and agencies, is now actively encouraging owners of corporate fleets to consider getting the EVs for the trial. Private car owners are not included in this test phase.
Said LTA chief executive Chew Hock Yong: 'We look forward to the strong support of the business community in Singapore for this test bed.'
To fan the take-up rate, the tax holiday for buyers of the EVs has been extended to six years, up from two. Companies taking part in the test will be exempted from paying for certificates of entitlement, additional registration fees, road taxes and excise duties; with these reliefs, the price tag of a Mitsubishi i-MiEV will come down to $90,000 from $200,000.
The EMA said the purchase of the first batch of EVs is yet to be finalised. They have received several applications to buy the vehicles from companies like Smart Car Rental and GP Batteries.
Bosch will work with the organisations buying the EVs to determine where the charging stations will be set up.
Nearly all the 26 stations will be of the 'normal' variety, meaning cars will have to be plugged in for up to eight hours for a full charge. Only one station will be a quick-charging one, which can charge a car in just 45 minutes.
With more stations ready by the end of next year, there will be three quick-charge stations. The charging stations look like slimmer versions of petrol pumps, except they dispense electricity instead of fuel.
The other thing to be decided is how much each top-up of electricity will cost.
SingTel will be in on the experiment as well, as the provider of the telephone-based booking system to be used by EV drivers in the future. The system will allow drivers to use an application on their smartphones to book a charging station.
Bosch beat out 10 other companies to clinch the deal. The authorities had received bids ranging from $988,600 to $11.07 million.
But the task force said in its statement yesterday that other players could subsequently be allowed to set up similar facilities to be used on a commercial basis: 'The charging infrastructure will be scaled up over time, to match the take-up rate of EVs in Singapore.'
The stations are an important part of the multi-million-dollar project to test the efficiency of electric vehicles here.
Green experts yesterday welcomed the news about the setting-up of the charging stations. Mr Eugene Tay, who runs green resources website Low-Carbon Singapore, called for more data to be gathered on the performance of EVs here.
Precious little data is now available on how these vehicles will perform in Singapore's hot and humid climate.
'We would get to see how the cars run, how long it actually takes to charge, and how the feedback system will work,' he said.
This was a reference to the expectation that in the long run, EVs will be able to sell back the excess power in their batteries to the national electricity grid.
About electric vehicles
Straits Times 9 Oct 10;
# The electric vehicle (EV) motor system is more than twice as efficient as the conventional internal combustion engine. Overall efficiency for EVs is about 65 per cent, against 18 to 23 per cent in normal engines.
# If 2 per cent of vehicles here were substituted for electric ones, the carbon emissions of the land transport sector here would be reduced by 4 per cent.
# A standard full charge of an EV will take about 8 hours. However, it can be quick-charged within 30 to 45 minutes.
# A full charge allows the EV to travel between 90km and 160km. The distance depends on various factors, including routes travelled and whether the air-conditioning is turned on.
# A multi-agency task force was set up last year to assess the benefits and feasibility of adopting EVs here. The EV test bed will run from this year to 2012.
26 charging stations for electric vehicles to be set by Bosch
Channel NewsAsia 8 Oct 10;
SINGAPORE: Twenty-six charging stations will be set up for Singapore's Electric Vehicle (EV) test bed programme.
The inter-agency Taskforce led by the Energy Market Authority and the Land Transport Authority has appointed Bosch to set up the infrastructure.
For a start, the charging stations will cater to the first batch of Mitsubishi i-MiEVs being brought in for the test-bed.
EV models by other car manufacturers are expected to become available in 2011.
All but one of the charging stations can fully charge an electric vehicle within eight hours.
The remaining quick charge station can do so in 45 minutes.
The taskforce said Bosch will work closely with each EV user in the test-bed programme to site the locations of these charging stations.
The quick charging station will be sited at a location which the EV users can conveniently access.
The charging infrastructure will be ramped up over time to match the take-up rate of EVs in Singapore.
The taskforce said while it has appointed Bosch to roll out the initial charging infrastructure for the test-bed programme, this does not restrict other players from setting up EV charging stations on a commercial basis. - CNA/fa
Bosch to roll out electric vehicle charging stations
Singapore is first outside Germany to test such an integrated charging network
Samuel Ee Business Times 9 Oct 10;
ROBERT Bosch (SEA) has been picked to design, develop, deploy, operate and maintain Singapore's electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.
The infrastructure is part of a $20 million programme to test-bed EVs in Singapore.
The German technology and services company was appointed by the multi-agency EV Taskforce, led by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
Bosch will work with local partners SingTel for the communications interface, and Greenlots for the charging network, to deliver a reliable and integrated infrastructure solution for EVs that it developed.
Singapore will be the first location outside Germany to test such an integrated EV charging network.
For the initial phase of the test-bed programme, Bosch will build 25 stations which will charge a vehicle fully within eight hours. There will also be a quick charging station which gives a full charge in 45 minutes.
These stations will cater to the first batch of EVs, which consists of 25 units of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV due to arrive in March.
Bosch will work with each EV user - a company participating in the test-bed - to site the location of a normal charging station. As for the quick charging station, it will be located for convenient access by all EV users. EV models by other manufacturers are also expected next year.
The charging infrastructure will be scaled up over time to match the take-up rate of EVs here.
Although Bosch will roll out the initial charging infrastructure for the test-bed programme, other players who want to set up EV charging stations on a commercial basis are free to do so.
'Worldwide, electric mobility solutions are emerging as a promising option for cleaner and less carbon-intensive road transportation,' said EMA chief executive Lawrence Wong.
'This programme will enable us to test and evaluate the overall costs and benefits of electric vehicles in Singapore's context.'
Mr Wong added that this is a part of EMA's broader effort to foster innovative solutions for Singapore's energy challenges and to make the Republic a smart energy economy.
Companies and organisations taking part in the EV test-bed can apply for the Transport Technology Innovation and Development Scheme or Tides+, which waives all vehicular taxes such as the Additional Registration Fees (ARF), Certificate of Entitlement (COE), road tax and excise duty for the purpose of R&D and test-bedding of transport technologies. This tax waiver is for an initial period of six years.
Bosch to set up 26 charging stations for electric cars
Mustafa Shafawi Today Online 9 Oct 10;
SINGAPORE - Twenty-six charging stations will be set up for Singapore's Electric Vehicle (EV) test bed programme - which runs from this year to 2012 - making the Republic the first location outside Germany to test out the charging infrastructure developed by the German firm Robert Bosch.
The inter-agency EV task force - led by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) - announced on Friday it had appointed Bosch to set up the infrastructure.
For a start, the charging stations will cater to the first batch of Mitsubishi i-MiEVs being brought in for the test-bed, said a joint press statement by EMA, LTA and the Economic Development Board.
EV models by other car manufacturers are expected to become available next year.
EMA chief executive Lawrence Wong said: "Worldwide, electric mobility solutions are emerging as a promising option for cleaner and less carbon-intensive road transportation. This programme will enable us to test and evaluate the overall costs and benefits of electric vehicles in Singapore's context."
Of the 26 charging stations, one can fully charge an electric vehicle in 45 minutes while the rest can do so within eight hours.
The charging infrastructure will be ramped up over time to match the take-up rate of EVs in Singapore.
The task force says that while it has appointed Bosch to roll out the initial charging infrastructure for the test-bed programme, this does not restrict other players from setting up EV charging stations on a commercial basis. MUSTAFA SHAFAWI
