Electric vehicles owners and EV taxi operators in Singapore can now enjoy a shorter charging time as ComfortDelGro last week put into service the latest version of its commercial direct current (DC) charging service
At 100kW power output, the new Delta Ultra Fast Charger is the fastest public commercial DC charger in the city state – delivering double the power output offered by competitors, shaving off close to 10 minutes to fully charge a vehicle.
The charging station, which is located in ComfortDelGro Engineering’s Loyang branch, can charge up to two vehicles at any one time. If two EVs are being charged at the same time, the charging station’s power output is at least 50kW, enabling each EV to be fully charged in 30 minutes.
“While the interest in EVs continues to grow as more are looking to switch to Greener options, charging time of EVs is still a key consideration. We hope that the introduction of faster charging solutions can help to alleviate those concerns and contribute to the development of a robust EV ecosystem in Singapore,” said Ang Soo Hock, CEO of ComfortDelGro Engineering.
ComfortDelGro is one of the world’s largest land transport companies with a total fleet size
of over 41,600 buses, taxis and rental vehicles. Its global operations span seven countries – Singapore, Australia, China, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Vietnam and Malaysia.
In Singapore, the company also run the city state’s 83km of light and heavy rail networks.
Partnership with Delta Electronics
The company introduced the first commercial DC charging service in Singapore in January 2019. The existing DC fast charging station in ComfortDelGro’s Braddell premises currently clocks an average of 130 charging sessions every month.
For its second commercial DC station in its Loyang branch, the ComfortDelGro partnered with Thailand-based Delta Electronics, which specialises in smart power and energy solutions.
The new Delta Ultra Fast Charger comes with connectors, cables and power modules that can be upgraded on location. This ensures that new higher power technologies can be applied to it when ready. Its system firmware updates can also be done remotely.
"With close to 50 years of experience in energy management and power technologies, We aim to provide our customers a one-stop service in building a future-proofed, more versatile and cost-efficient EV charging infrastructure solution,” said Cecilia Ku, general manager of Delta Electronics Int'l (Singapore).
According to Ku, Delta is supporting Singapore's electrification with its smart and efficient EV charging solutions that support e-mobility in green smart cities of the future.
“The Delta Ultra Fast Charger has a modular and future-proof system design that can easily upgrade later up to 150kW output power and can charge up to four EVs at once (two EVs DC charging and two EVs AC charging). It is a multi-standard, non-discriminative charger suitable for all available EVs today and in the foreseeable future,” she said.
The superfast service will be made available to all ComfortDelGro fully electric taxis and private EV car owners through global EV charging software and solutions provider, Greenlots.
Greenlots users who own EVs equipped with the Combined Charging System (CCS) such as the BMW i3, fully-electric Hyundai Ioniqs and Konas, Jaguar iPace as well as Porsche Taycan will be able to recharge at the Delta Ultra Fast charging station through the Greenlots App, where they can check the availability of the charger and pay the charges of 40 cents per kWh.
To enter ComfortDelGro’s premises at Braddell and Loyang, drivers will need to apply for a special access pass directly with ComfortDelGro Engineering. ComfortDelGro cabbies driving the fully-electric Hyundai Ioniq and Kona taxis do not require the access pass.
Cabby Lian Chin Hock, who has been driving an electric Hyundai Ioniq for two years, welcomed the faster DC charging service: “Having an even faster charger is definitely useful as it helps to save time for me. It is also good to have another charging station at Loyang as it will be convenient for me to charge the taxi if I am in the eastern part of Singapore.”
