Published June 22, 2012
By Philippe Crowe
Elektromotive Limited says it will create the UK’s largest pay-as-you-go, “open source” network of public charging stations for EVs, based upon the development of its pay-by-phone technology.
The initiative comes as the result of a new joint venture with Charge your Car (North) Ltd. The new company – Charge Your Car Limited – will expand the existing Charge your Car (North) Ltd. network located predominantly across North East England, and incorporate other regional networks and stand-alone units under the Charge Your Car brand. The goal is to create a recharging network with 10,000 public access pay-as-you-go charge points located across the UK.
To accelerate its rapid expansion, the national network will be ‘open source’, meaning that charge points produced by any manufacturer can be included on the network, provided they use the industry-standard Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP).
Elektromotive, which has an installed base of more than 3,000 charge points making it one of Europe’s leading charge point manufacturers, is developing second-generation back office technology and a new user interface. The joint venture will create a marketplace that connects charge point owners to EV drivers.
For the EV driver, the development and expansion of the Charge Your Car network means it will become much easier to gain ready access to charging points across the UK, and do so without the need to pay a monthly subscription. It also means that they can locate and pay for the use of any Charge Your Car charge point using their mobile phone or smartphone.
Charge point owners will be able to improve awareness and usage of their charge points by joining the Charge Your Car network – benefiting from the shared branding and ongoing promotion, as well as the integrated billing, management and reporting facilities. It is intended that the joint venture will establish a fully-managed marketplace that generates sustainable revenues for charge-point owners, reducing or eliminating the reliance on public-sector subsidies.
Currently, Charge your Car (North) Ltd is the operator of the Charge Your Car electric vehicle recharging network with 400 publicly accessible charge points located predominantly in the North East of England.
While operating the new joint venture, Elektromotive will continue in its role as a charge point manufacturer and infrastructure solutions provider for private and public sector organizations worldwide.
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