The program, called ChargePoint America, will see the charging stations installed in nine regions of the US, to be used by electric vehicles coming not only from Ford, but also Chevrolet and smart USA. The vehicles to be used in the program are Chevrolet Volt, Ford Transit Connect Electric, Ford Focus Electric and smart fortwo.
The program will cost $37 million and is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Transportation Electrification Initiative administered by the Department of Energy.
“This grant will bring thousands of networked charging stations to nine US regions that are slated to receive the first electric vehicles from our automobile partners. These charging stations will build upon our already growing and established network of infrastructure and will accelerate the deployment of public and private charging infrastructure which will in turn encourage consumers to buy electric vehicles," Richard Lowenthal, Coulomb CEO said in a statement.
"Our Department of Energy grant, also known as the stimulus bill, was funded to provide jobs for Americans. Our products are built and installed with American labor. Every time we ship a ChargePoint charging station, three Americans go to work for a day.”
The partnership between the carmakers and Coulomb will become reality by the end of the year, when the first 1000 new public charging stations will be installed. The rest of the stations are to become operational by September 2011.
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