Coulomb Lands in Europe

As the first batches of the Nissan Leaf have landed in the UK a few weeks back, the race between the charging solutions providers to become more present on the European markets is heating up. Whereas the European companies specializing in these chargers still battle their way through various obstacles, American companies are planning their expansion onto the Old Continent.

Among the first to unveil their expansion onto the European market is Coulomb Technologies, who announced today that ChargePoint Network has been adapted to accommodate the MIFARE-based transportation card, a technology that facilitates interoperability amongst different European energy supplier charging networks. This means that the ChargePoint CT2500, a type 2 station, is now compatible with driver roaming.

“We are proud to expand ChargePoint Network’s reach further into the European market,” said Bret Sewell, Coulomb vice presindet.

“The introduction of these new stations helps support EV adoption in Europe, and the ChargePoint Network enables energy suppliers to deliver EV charging services to drivers, bill customers, and provide driver support, while cost effectively and remotely managing their charging infrastructure.”

The Coulomb charging stations have the following features:

• smart Grid ready with built in Utility Grade Capable Metering, Time of Use (TOU) pricing and Demand Response (DR) control
• the ability for station owners to set fees for station use (including free charging)
• compatible with management, billing, demand response and other third party software applications
• the lowest operating cost possible due to real-time operational monitoring, alerts, diagnosis, and control of stations
• 24/7 driver assistance, station location, station availability, trip mapping, driver consolidated/flexible billing, and driver notification services
• smart Phone applications (iPhone and Blackberry) to find unoccupied stations and navigate to them