Nuon will provide renewable energy for the charging stations and Coulomb’s international partner 365-Energy 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, chief executive officer 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.”
Drivers of electrical vehicles subscribe to the ChargePoint Network through a website and receive a ChargePoint Smart Card that allows them to charge their car at any charging station. To use a ChargePoint charging station, a driver holds an authorized Smart Card near the card reader on the station’s front panel. Once authorized, the station door will unlock, allowing the driver to plug in his vehicle, and will energize the outlet once the door is safely locked securing the driver’s cord. The service is free of charge for this pilot project.
Drivers can find available ChargePoint charging stations through Google maps and request new stations through a subscriber portal. As the network of ChargePoint charging stations expands across Europe, drivers will have access to the service in any city, regardless of their provider. The ChargePoint Network ensures the same roaming capabilities as mobile phone providers.
The charging stations provide fleet managers with an online Fleet Portal displaying performance data and graphs for their plug-in fleet. The networked charging stations also report greenhouse gas savings and gasoline savings to fleet managers. Coulomb’s networked charging stations notify drivers and fleet managers via text message when individual vehicles are overdue for charging, when charging abnormally terminates, and when charging is complete.
