SINGAPORE – Drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) crossing the border can now plug into more than 300 charging points in Malaysia.
New EV chargers are also being added to the network in Singapore, starting with four high-speed charging points at 38 Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2.
Charging and paying for the services on either side of the border will be done on a single smartphone application under the chargEV network. The app notifies users when a charger at their desired location becomes available.
Those driving into Singapore from Malaysia can also access the chargers here on the same platform. The platform is provided through a partnership between Yinson Green Technologies, a Malaysian company that is the majority shareholder of chargEV, and a subsidiary of LHN, a Singapore real-estate management services group.
Pricing for the service depends on factors such as the type and location of the EV chargers.
At the Ang Mo Kio location, which has 150kW fast chargers, the rate is 60 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). At Komtar JBCC shopping mall in Johor Bahru, one of the closest locations in Malaysia to Singapore, using one of the two 22kW chargers costs RM2 (60 Singapore cents) for every 10 minutes.
It is common for EV charging in Malaysia to be billed by time blocks rather than amount of electricity drawn. By end-2023, the chargEV network in Singapore will have at least five charging locations, including Kallang Bahru, Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, Mount Elizabeth Link and 43 Keppel Road. More fast chargers with dual-charging nozzles will be installed at the Ang Mo Kio location.
At the launch event on Wednesday, LHN’s spokesman said the 12 EV chargers that are currently operated by LHN will be added to the chargEV network “over the next three months”. LHN manages more than 70 carparks in Singapore.
While the majority of chargers now on the network in Malaysia are slow chargers, those in Singapore will mostly be fast chargers to cater to commercial EV users, who need the higher speed to stay mobile.
Yinson’s spokesman said the amount of time needed to charge depends on not only the charger’s speed, but also how well the EV can take advantage of the charger’s performance.
The company is part of a consortium developing a new fully electric vessel with battery-swopping technology in Singapore. Yinson said the electric vessel is on track to be launched by end-2023.
While the latest venture offers sizeable coverage in terms of the number of charging points, it is not the first to offer cross-border EV charging.
In April 2022, Singapore piped town gas provider City Energy launched Go, the first cross-border EV charging service that gives motorists access to a network of chargers in Singapore and Malaysia using a single smartphone app. The service now has 118 charging points across more than 50 locations in Malaysia.
Citing commercial sensitivities, City Energy did not disclose the number of users of its service.
