Electric vehicle charging station leaders partner to expand intelligent EV charging nationwide

Electric vehicle charging station leaders ChargePoint and DBT USA announced plans to significantly expand the networked EV charging station landscape in North America. Through a partnership, DBT USA’s new North American portfolio of Level II EV charging stations now have the option to connect to ChargePoint, the world’s largest global EV charging network.

Through ChargePoint, DBT USA can now provide station owners and EV drivers advanced features including the ability to help with trip planning, manage the cost of charging, and find and operate public stations.

In a recent study by Pike Research, ChargePoint and DBT are rated as the number one and two EV charging station equipment manufacturers, respectively, in the world. The companies will showcase their combined solution at the Consumer Electronics Show January 8 to 11, 2013 inside the GoElectricDrive Tech Zone, booth #2826 (LVCC North Hall) and DBT USA booth #2931 (LVCC, North Hall).

“With 20 years of experience and more than 10,000 units installed worldwide, DBT is synonymous with innovative and comprehensive charging hardware,” said Hervé Borgoltz, DBT’s CEO. “By partnering with ChargePoint we now offer an intelligent solution for the North American market with advanced EV charging services the marketplace demands. ChargePoint is an ideal platform to bridge the connection between grid, vehicle, and drivers through our new charging infrastructure portfolio. By using DBT’s unique scalable hardware, this collaboration with ChargePoint will also allow electric charging operators to tailor their charging solutions to get the best return on investment possible, especially in the fleet and public charging areas.”

DBT USA’s GNS product portfolio, including the GNS Premium and the GNS Bundle now provide network services, via ChargePoint, for both charging station owners and EV drivers.

GNS Premium gives station owners the opportunity to manage payment as well as monitor station operating status via ChargePoint cloud services. GNS Bundle combines a GNS management unit with one or several GNS “satellite” stations allowing parking operators and fleet managers to progressively build their network of stations. GNS Bundle is ideal in helping them grow their charging infrastructure as new electric and plug-in hybrid models become available in North America.

Both GNS Premium and Bundle models can be purchased with ChargePoint Network compatibility for EV charging station management.

For station owners, ChargePoint features include patent-pending ChargePoint Connections, support for multi-site deployments, and additional pricing models for charging services. ChargePoint optimizes management workflows, allowing station owners to operate more efficiently and with less effort while maintaining tight control over access and management rights. For EV drivers, ChargePoint-enabled locations are included on all ChargePoint mobile phone applications for iPhone and Android. These free ChargePoint mobile apps provide an easy way to locate stations near any specified address, get turn-by-turn directions, start and stop a charging session directly from a smart phone. Additionally, these apps allow drivers to utilize ChargePoint’s station reservation feature. Drivers can locate reservable stations, and then make, view and cancel a reservation directly from a smart phone.

“We are pleased to partner with DBT USA as they enter the North American marketplace,” said Pat Romano, president and CEO of ChargePoint. “ChargePoint’s open platform integrates seamlessly with DBT’s station hardware, enabling their customers to be part of the ChargePoint network.”

DBT USA’s range of ChargePoint-enabled charging stations will be released in the first quarter of 2013.