SINGAPORE – By 2025, electric vehicle (EV) owners here will have access to more fast chargers that are located at public commercial carparks owned by the Housing Board.
Rated at either 30 kilowatts (kW) or 50kW, these fast chargers will be set up at places such as Taman Jurong Shopping Centre, Woodlands Civic Centre and Limbang Shopping Centre in Choa Chu Kang under contracts awarded to ComfortDelGro-owned CDG Engie and Keppel-owned Volt Singapore.
EV-Electric Charging (EVe), a subsidiary of the Land Transport Authority set up to oversee the roll-out of EV chargers in Singapore, said on June 14 that the two new contracts will cover a total of 20 sites, primarily at HDB commercial complexes, as well as other publicly accessible carparks.
The charging points deployed will include a mix of both fast and slow chargers. EVe defines fast chargers as those that use direct current (DC), which can feed power directly to a car’s battery, while slow chargers are those that use alternating current (AC).
With the two new contracts, 50kW DC chargers will be installed at 11 locations across the island.
There will also be 30kW DC chargers at six locations, including Elias Mall and Loyang Point in the east; two 22kW AC charging points at Revenue House in Novena; and 7.4kW AC chargers at Rivervale Plaza and Choa Chu Kang Centre.
With fast chargers, EV drivers can typically get half of a full charge in about 30 minutes. In contrast, an EV typically reaches a full charge after six to eight hours using a slow charger.
The new public fast chargers will be deployed progressively by 2025, with the first site expected to be ready by end-2024.
EVe said CDG Engie and Volt Singapore are among eight pre-qualified EV charging operators here that have been tasked with advancing Singapore’s next phase of public EV charger deployment.
These eight operators were evaluated based on stringent quality standards, including financial health, project management, operational expertise and their ability to improve customer experience, EVe added.
It said the contracts awarded for the new chargers are part of the Government’s plan to deploy 120 fast chargers at about 60 carparks in HDB commercial buildings, town and neighbourhood centres, and industrial premises owned by JTC Corporation.
This plan kicked off in January with the roll-out of public fast chargers at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh and the Oasis Terraces neighbourhood centre in Punggol, with the aim of targeting public carparks frequented by high-mileage EV drivers such as cabbies and private-hire drivers.
This came after industry feedback, with heavy EV users asking for more fast chargers at public carparks, where parking rates are more affordable and there are amenities such as coffee shops.
EVe chief executive Derek Tan said: “Fast charging will help to minimise their downtime even as they take a quick break. We hope these new fast chargers across various HDB commercial complexes will give them that much-needed boost.”
Currently, most fast chargers in Singapore are located on private commercial premises such as malls and offices.