ABB Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a power and automation technology solutions provider, has launched its Terra 53 CJG fast charger for electric vehicles (EVs) in Malaysia.
Depending on the size of the battery, the Terra 53 CJG can charge an EV from 30 per cent battery power to 80 per cent in about 15 minutes. It is well suited to be installed at petrol stations at rest stops along the highway.
“We are ready to supply the chargers, but the EV market is still small in Malaysia.
“The beauty of the fast charger is that EV owners can now drive from Penang to Johor Bahru, and all they need to do is to stop by any fast charger terminal to charge the battery in about 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the battery size and power remaining. Then they can continue their journey,” said its managing director , Jukka Poutanen.
Jukka said ABB and Microsoft Corp had joined forces and created a cloud-based platform for ABB customers to customise the features for consumers.
“With this platform, ABB customers, who want to install a unit at their petrol station, can customise the charger according to their needs, to the extent that consumers can actually check the availability of the chargers, and queue for a charge, if the charger is in use,” Jukka said.
ABB has more than 5,000 chargers worldwide.
The first unit in Malaysia was installed at ABB Malaysia headquarters at Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Subang Jaya. It is free to charge for the owners of EV and plug-in hybrids.
Malaysian Green Technology Corporation (GreenTech Malaysia) counts the ABB charger as part of its ChargEV charging network of over 150 stations. However, at the moment there are no concrete plans for GreenTech to use ABB’s chargers.
“The EV chargers used depend on the locations. If EV chargers are installed in the shopping mall, it would be a waste to install a fast charger as the average time a shopper spends at a mall is more than an hour. Therefore, a lower-powered charger is more suitable.
“Fast chargers are best suited for petrol stations or rest stops along the highways, where EV owners need to have a quick charge to continue their journey,” said Jukka.
Jukka said, in Europe, there are many alternative ways to pay for EV charging - a service that people don’t mind having to pay more. As the volume of EV users increase, the operator would able to recover investments faster.
“The shorter charging time would allow them to serve more customers in a day,” Jukka said.
The Terra 53 CJG supports three main charging standards that are currently in use, and are able to charge most of the EV and plug-in hybrid cars available.
The charging standards include the Type 1 CHAdeMo DC plug, which is used on the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi-i-MiEV, the commonly-used Type 2 Mennekes AC Plug and the combined charging system DC plug.
It uses solar energy, making it 100 per cent carbon free.
Malaysia’s target to deploy 100,000 electric cars, 100,000 electric scooters and 2,000 electric buses by 2020 will be supported by 125,000 charging stations to address the increasing carbon emissions generated by land transportation.
The launch of the ABB fast charger is part of the company’s vision to encourage the move towards sustainable mobility and in support of the government’s aim to reduce carbon emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.