ECOtality, Inc., a company specializing in clean electric transportation and storage technologies, has entered into an agreement with ABB to utilize ABB’s sales distribution channels to offer ECOtality’s Blink electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. This arrangement benefits ABB’s network of North American commercial and utility customers. The agreement, announced at the Automation and Power World conference, comes on the heels of ABB’s $10 million investment in ECOtality.
As the integrated smart electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) provider to ABB in North America, ECOtality’s Blink charging stations bring smart-grid ready features. They allow consumers and utility companies to perform better energy management, smart meter management and interaction, and demand response capabilities. ECOtality’s current set of Blink EV charging solutions includes the Blink Level 2 Home Charger for residential use. This charger is equipped with a revenue-grade meter and can integrate with any home area network (HAN) provider, the Blink Level 2 Pedestal Charger and Blink DC Fast Charger for commercial, fleet, and public locations. Introduced in October 2010, the Blink DC Fast Charger is capable of providing a full charge in less than 30 minutes.
ECOtality is project manager of The EV Project. It will oversee the installation of approximately 14,000 commercial and residential charging stations in 18 cities and major metropolitan areas in six states and the District of Columbia. The project will provide an EV infrastructure to support the deployment of 8,300 EVs. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through a federal stimulus grant of $114.8 million, which is made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The grants are matched by private investment. They bring the total value of the project to approximately $230 million.
“This agreement allows us to meet the growing demands of our North American utility customers for an integrated end-to-end EV charging solution,” said Murray Jones, Vice President of EV Infrastructure at ABB Inc. “Together, ECOtality and ABB are combining our knowledge of the smart grid, and intelligent EV infrastructure solutions to empower utilities, EV drivers, and all the players in between, to prepare for, and manage electric vehicles.”
“ABB and ECOtality are operating with a complete EV toolset—together we are creating a total EV solution that provides smart grid-ready technologies from the garage to the power pole to the power plant that are essential to bringing electric vehicles onto the grid,” said Jonathan Read, CEO of ECOtality. “By coupling ABB’s power management expertise and its global value chains with our Blink smart charging stations, we are able to provide utility customers complete turnkey solutions that range from consulting to advanced hardware deployments."
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, ECOtality, Inc. is a company specializing in clean electric transportation and storage technologies. Through acquisitions and strategic partnerships, ECOtality accelerates the market applicability of advanced electric technologies to replace carbon-based fuels.
ABB is a company in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. Operating in over 100 countries, the ABB Group of companies employs approximately 124,000 people.
In related news, ECOtality, Inc. increased revenue by 60 percent. The revenue now reached to $13.7 million for the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2010. The company will provide a shareholder update.
Janet Li is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Rich Steeves
