since 1976
since 1976
IT’S A project that has been begging to be implemented for quite a while and it has taken Porsche and Shell to get it off the road; EV (electrical vehicle) charging points from Singapore to Malaysia. This isn’t just from the island nation to the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia but it would cover the North-South Highway to the northern part of the peninsula.
Providing more charging points for EVs is the logical move to encourage wider ownership of such vehicles and promote electric mobility and cleaner driving. The current focus of providing such charging outlets, mostly in shopping centres and the respective car outlets, has to be expanded to allow EV owners to proceed beyond city limits.
And this finally took root with Porsche Asia Pacific and Shell announcing the implementation of South-East Asia’s first cross-border high performance charging (HPC) network. This would feature 12 charge points at six Shell stations ‘strategically located’ along the North-South Highway, allowing EV owners to drive from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur before continuing their motoring to Penang without experiencing the angst of range anxiety.
This partnership is said to ‘further demonstrate’ the commitment between Porsche and Shell to drive the future of electric mobility in Southeast Asia by spearheading connectivity between the two countries, which handle one of the world’s busiest international land border crossings at the Sultan Iskandar Building and Woodlands Checkpoint.
Through this link, six Shell stations would be equipped with 180kW direct-current (DC) chargers to offer the highest charging capacity across Singapore and Malaysia. The chargers come with two CCS Type 2 charging connectors, allowing a single vehicle to be charged at up to 180kW or two vehicles to charge simultaneously at up to 90kW each. The offering would be rolled out in stages with four stations to be ready in the second half of 2021 and two additional stations by the first half of 2022.
Phase one includes the stations in Seremban and Tangkak, Johor. Phase two is at Ayer Itam and Seremban stations, and the third phase includes the Shell stations at Simpang Pulai and Tangkak, both in Perak.
Shell says these sites would be integrated in its existing charging networks, comprising 18 Shell Recharge 50kW fast charge points at Shell stations and 87 Greenlots public charge points in Singapore as well as 18 ‘Reserve+Shell Recharge’ charge points in Malaysia. In addition, they are said to complement the established 175kW high performance chargers available at all Porsche Centres in Malaysia as well as the growing ‘Porsche Destination Charging’ network at selected hotels, airports, sports clubs and other lifestyle venues.
As electric mobility starts gaining momentum in Singapore and Malaysia, this network has a positive spin on enabling smooth, convenient and reliable electric road trips between the two countries. Once launched, the chargers would be available for all EVs that utilise the CCS Type 2 charging connector, which is widely used in both countries, with Porsche customers enjoying special rates at Shell Recharge.
Shell says its new 180kW high performance chargers are equipped to charge the Porsche Taycan from zero to 80 per cent battery capacity in around 30 minutes, providing up to 390 kilometres (WLTP) of extra travel distance. Shell is also offering additional benefits to Porsche customers such as reserving the HPC points in Malaysia in advance using their mobile app and preferential prices for food and beverages at the Shell Select shops.
“The Asean markets hold strong potential for Porsche to unlock and we see an opportunity to shape electric mobility in the region. Our high-performance network across Singapore and Malaysia would serve as a lighthouse project for other countries to follow,” says Matthias Becker, Vice President Region Overseas and Emerging Markets of Porsche AG.
“While the question of future electric mobility is a global one, Southeast Asia amply demonstrates the complexity and diversity of both the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. As more customers adopt EVs and governments look to meet their climate goals, the partnership between Porsche and Shell is one of many examples on how industry players must come together to play a vital role to help the transportation sector decarbonise and pave way for cleaner mobility solutions for customers,” says Amr Adel, Senior Vice President, Mobility East, Shell.
Shell aims to expand its EV charging offer to 500,000 stations by 2025 globally. It says the partnership with Porsche and other initiatives are part of the company’s strategy to accelerate its transformation into a provider of net-zero emissions energy products and services while giving EV drivers choices to charge their cars, be it at home, workplace, shopping malls or at Shell stations.
“We have been investing in building EV charging infrastructure to reduce range anxiety for our customers and this initiative is one of many examples of Shell providing solutions catered to our customers’ need for cleaner energy solutions. In 2019, we introduced EV charging in Singapore and in 2020, we introduced solar-powered retail stations in Malaysia,” says Shairan Huzani Husain, Cluster Managing Director, Mobility Malaysia and Singapore, Shell.
With this initiative taking off, the impetus is set to draw in other participants into this new era of electric mobility and the essential services that pander to it. A good EV charging network across the country is the ideal step towards encouraging wider EV ownership and perhaps allow cheaper model options to be introduced to grow the market. - LPS
