Siemens, Schneider, GE Unveil EV Charging Stations

Industrial giants Siemens, GE and Schneider Electric have all announced new EV charger products and services.

GE Energy Industrial Solutions is to partner with home improvement store Lowes to offer the GE WattStation Wall Mount Electric Vehicle Charging Station (pictured) for homes and businesses, the companies announced at the Plug-In 2011 Conference and Exposition.

The station will be available at five stores in California in August. In September the product will be available in 60 U.S. stores and on Lowes.com.

The WattStation, a Level 2 charger, fully charges an electric car in just four to eight hours compared with standard overnight charging that can take as much as 12-to-14 hours, GE says.

Siemens Industry Inc. has launched its VersiCharge line of electrical vehicle charging stations, designed for commercial users and home-owners. The stations are Level 2, ready for 240V service and are available in two models, VersiCharge and VersiCharge SG.

Siemens says the non-SG version is aimed at, for example, electrical contractors who want to offer homeowners an economical, easy-to-use station to charge their electric vehicle. The SG model is designed for owners and utilities looking for network connectivity, expandability, and smart grid integration.

Schneider Electric has announced the availability of its EVlink outdoor electric vehicle charging stations.  The stations provides a way to recharge EVs outdoors in commercial and residential settings. Schneider Electric is partnering with the city of Fort Collins, Colo., to roll out EVlink chargers throughout the city.

Leviton has also announced the release of its 120 Level 1 Portable Charger and 160 Level 2 Home Charging Station. The two devices will be available for purchase by residential and commercial customers beginning August 1, 2011 through Leviton’s distribution channels: e-store, electrical distributors, retail partners and automakers.

The portable Evr-Green 120 Level 1 Charger offers an on-the-go charging option for electric vehicle owners. The device can be plugged into any standard 15-amp or 20-amp, 125-volt grounded outlet.

In related news, Green Charge Networks has announced the launch of their new GreenStation product, an energy storage and management device operated directly by commercial facilities such as grocery and convenience stores, fast-food chains, hotels, parking garages and hotels.

GreenStation locally stores energy during periods of low use and augments grid power with stored energy during peak demand. This, the makers say, avoids usage peaks that cause expensive charges on the electricity bill, while also enabling functions such as electric vehicle charging.

Finally, Coulomb Technologies has announced it will partner with in-car GPS provider TomTom to bring electric vehicle charging station location, navigation and reservation services on to drivers’ dashboards.

“This partnership announcement is a milestone for the EV industry,” said Pat Romano, president and CEO at Coulomb. “The successful adoption of electric vehicles will depend on the ability of EV drivers to easily locate charging stations and more importantly to ensure that the station is available, especially now when there are more EVs than stations in many locations.”