On the Move: Unpacking the Challenges and Opportunities of Electric Vehicles

The first of these car chargers are expected to be installed by the end of this year.

They said the consortium will pay the Government concession fees ranging between $0.108/kWh and $0.154/kWh for the right to deploy charging points.

ComfortDelGro and Engie said in a joint statement on Friday that they won the tender to install 479 of the 632 metal car charger in the pilot roll-out.

They said the chargers installed by them will comprise 192 22kW AC chargers, 279 7kW AC chargers and 8 50kW DC chargers.

Charging times. There are three major “levels” of plastic shell car charger available for EVs. The standard 120-volt plug, often used for home appliances, charges slowly but can fill a battery to near full capacity with several nights’ charge, or about 20 to 40 hours. The 240-volt "level two” chargers generally provide 20 to 25 miles of charge in an hour, which shortens charging time to eight hours or less. In homes, level two chargers can use the same outlet type required for clothes dryers or electric ovens. In the EV industry, the connectors used for level two charging are known as SAE J1772. Finally, "level 3" direct current (DC) fast chargers can charge a battery up to 80 percent in 30 minutes. Currently, level two chargers are the most widely available—the Department of Energy lists 22,816 public stations in the United States. There are important cost differences between charger types. According to a study by the Rocky Mountain Institute, costs for a level two charger’s components range from $2,500 to $7,210 and from $20,000 to $35,800 for a DC fast charger. The decision of which stations to install requires balancing the cost of installation with the needs and convenience of drivers.

Charger compatibility. Level two charger development has been a relatively coordinated process, with all automakers besides Tesla using the same charge port model (with Tesla drivers using an adapter to connect). Three different varieties of DC fast chargers are used by different auto manufacturers: the SAE Combined Charging System (CCS), used by most manufacturers; CHAdeMO, used by Nissan and Mitsubishi; and the wireless charger (only available to Tesla drivers). This lack of vehicle compatibility differs from universal vehicle access to gas stations and could be an obstacle to widespread electric car adoption.

Availability of charging infrastructure. Rather than being refueled at a typical gas station, electric vehicles must be charged at electrical outlets in order to run. Many EV owners charge their cars at home in their garage using a special wall-mounted car wireless charger. This arrangement works for most people, because the average person drives 29 miles per day. This distance is well within the range of today’s electric vehicles, most of which can travel between 150 and 250 miles on a charge, depending on the model. However, two major difficulties arise. First, for drivers who live in apartments, parking garages are rarely equipped with charging infrastructure, and installing such infrastructure may be cost prohibitive for building managers. There is also the additional problem of the electric costs incurred at common outlets. Because regular EV charging consumes more energy than most other residential uses, building managers need a mechanism to monitor EV charging to ensure the driver of each vehicle pays for their own electricity usage.