While electric vehicle adoption has been off to a slow start in the US – just surpassing the 100,000 vehicle sales mark – the charging infrastructure also has a long way to go. Greenlots, which designs and delivers charging networks for EVs, just launched SKY v3.0, the latest release of its comprehensive platform for site hosts and EV drivers. It’s an open standards-based network management solution for charging with a list of new features designed to expand charging station functionality for EV drivers and site hosts.
SKY v3.0’s new features include a an option to mix and match charging stations from different manufacturers; the ability to switch network management providers without replacing charging stations; and a future-proof solution that eliminates the risk of “stranded assets” if a network management provider goes out of business.
Greenlots has been in operation for the past five years and has been part of building charging networks in the Asia Pacific region, Europe, and North America and currently has headquarter offices in Singapore and San Francisco. Greenlots was the first to introduce open standards-based charging using the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) to site hosts, network operators, and EV drivers in North America and the Asia Pacific regions. Greenlots has worked closely with charging station providers including ABB, Eaton, and Schneider Electric to expend the open-standards networks.
North America is now integrating the open standards that were previously adopted in Europe, says Brett Hauser, President, North America at Greenlots. Site hosts have sometimes been investing in switching over to new charging systems to access newly installed networks, taking on that unexpected expense. “It gives site hosts control of their destiny, value, and competitive pricing,” he said. “The switching cost’s not there.”
In the US, charging stations are made up of proprietary networks, some of them funded by US Dept. of Energy programs such as EV Project. Greenlots has been working with infrastructure stakeholders for several years on opening up charging station user accessibility and making it more viable and profitable for site hosts.
That could include employers setting up charging stations for staff to charge at work and fleet managers overseeing EVs. SKY v3.0 has built in these new features, Hauser said, including network management software, billing solutions, a comprehensive reporting system, and mobile applications for drivers. Another new feature in SKY is the capacity to extend load control demand and response through integration with major telematics platforms and third-party networks.
For more information, visit: www.greenlots.com
