Plug'n Drive announces the launch of an open network of electric vehicle charging stations
TORONTO, July 17, 2013 /CNW/ - Plug'n Drive announces the launch of Charge My Car on the Road, an open network of electric vehicle charging stations supported by Greenlots that will serve Ontario's drivers. The official announcement will be made on July 18th at Plug'n Drive's 2nd annual EV Day, Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto at 8 a.m.
"Right now, most of the public charging stations in Ontario are hard to find and often can only be accessed by members with a special card." said Cara Clairman, President and CEO of Plug'n Drive. By partnering with Greenlots, a company that provides networked solutions for electric vehicle charging, Plug'n Drive can take advantage of Greenlots' open source platform so that Charge My Car charging stations can be accessed by any smartphone or tablet, making finding a station and paying to park and charge convenient and easy.
"Plug'n Drive has taken a leadership position by requiring that Ontario's EV charging networks be open and accessible to all EV drivers," said Brett Hauser, President of Greenlots. "The Charge My Car network will be supported by Greenlots SKY, which allows drivers to find and use the charging stations with any smartphone."
By creating an open network in Ontario and making sure it is interoperable with systems in other provinces, a Canada-wide network is possible that will allow drivers to use stations in any city, municipality or province without the need to carry a wallet full of special access cards.
Plug'n Drive conducted an RFP to find charging station manufacturers that are willing to work together to establish and promote an open network and provide hardware that can accommodate it. In this first round, Plug'n Drive is pleased to be working with Eaton, the first EVSE manufacturer to bring Greenlots SKY to Ontario. Plug'n Drive will also be working with AddEnergie, offering a made in Canada charging station with the VERnetwork™, an open source network that will allow for interoperability with close to 500 charging stations across Canada.
About Plug'n Drive:
Plug'n Drive is a non-profit organization promoting the adoption of electric vehicles to maximize their environmental and economic benefits. Plug'n Drive has been actively involved in educating consumers and business about the advantages of driving electric since 2008. More recently, Plug'n Drive has taken an active role in expanding charging infrastructure by assisting consumers and businesses to find, purchase and install EV chargers at home and commercial locations. For more information visit: www.plugndrive.ca or www.chargemycar.ca.
About Greenlots:
Greenlots designs and delivers charging networks for electric vehicles, with installed systems in 13 countries. The company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Singapore and was the first to introduce open standards-based charging using the Open Charge Point Protocol, (OCPP) to North American site hosts, network operators and EV drivers. The company's network operator platform, Greenlots SKY, is provided for utilities, municipalities, EV manufacturers and distributors and other businesses to install, own and operate their own EV charging network. Greenlots' charging solutions are designed to be affordable, easy to install, convenient to use, networked and global.
SOURCE: Plug'n Drive
Cara Clairman
President and CEO
Plug'n Drive
416-606-9326 (c)
1-855-3PLUGIN (o)
[email protected]
Cindy Braggar
Media Relations
Greenlots
310-299-8939
[email protected]
Share this article