SP Group rolls out first public DC fast chargers for Singapore

• Jan 9, 2019

50kW DC fast-charge stations can top-up an electric car in half an hour, with even faster charging technology in the pipeline 

SINGAPORE

SP Group is quickly positioning itself as one of the major forces in electric vehicle (EV) charging networks in Singapore.

In June last year, it announced plans to build a network of 500 chargers for public use here, which was quickly expanded to 1,000 chargers after an announcement in October.   

It said its first wave of 30 chargers would be established by the end of 2018, and it’s delivered on that promise: Today it announced its ‘first wave’ of 38 charging points at 19 locations, including the first DC fast chargers for public use (see list of locations at end of story).

The other major EV charge network here is Greenlots, which currently has 55 public charging stations at 39 locations, however none of these are DC fast-chargers, and are AC chargers with a maximum 7.3kW charge rate.

EV car-sharing service BlueSG has a network of more than 531 charging stations at 135 locations already, however these are currently not open to the public, but it says it is planning to open up to 20 percent of these to the public in 2019.

SP Group says six other DC chargers exist in Singapore. CarBuyer believes these are not publicly-accessible. One such charger, for example, is at Hyundai distributor Komoco Motors on Alexandra Road, but is only available for customers to use. 

On SP’s nascent network, 19 of the 38 points are high-powered, 50kW direct-current (DC) charge points, and the other half are high-powered 43kW alternating current (AC) charge points.

“Our nation-wide public charging network offers EV drivers fast charging, with greater convenience and a seamless experience through our digital solution, at cost-competitive rates. This will encourage wider adoption of green mobility in Singapore, and enable drivers to save cost,” said Mr Wong Kim Yin, Group Chief Executive Officer of SP Group, in an official statement.

Customers can access the charging points via the SP Group mobile application, as well as pay for the charging and monitor charging progress.

SP says the DC fast chargers can ‘fully charge a car in 30 minutes.’ As CarBuyer previously noted, the Hyundai Ioniq Electric has a maximum charge rate of 100kW, which means a full charge in roughly half-an-hour.

However different cars have different maximum charge rates. A 50kW charge rate would mean a 40 minute charge time for a BMW i3 94Ah, compared to 7.3 hours for a wallbox rated at 3.7kW, and 11-hours for a 240V domestic socket.

The fast-charge race doesn’t stop there, though: SP Group says it will introduce fast-chargers of up to 350kW ‘over the next few years’.

The first car to support that sort of super-fast charging is Porsche’s Taycan electric grand tourer expected in Singapore in late 2019 or early 2020, with Porsche planning 350kW, 800V charging to replenish the car’s 500km range in only 15 minutes.

Newer EVs coming to market in Singapore, such as the Jaguar i-Pace, Audi e-tron, have maximum charge rates of 150kW, and charge rates look to get faster as technology progresses. Tesla’s SuperCharger network supports fast-charge of up to 250kW.

If SP Group’s fast-charge into fast-charge is anything to go by, Singapore’s future EV owners won’t have to worry about being stranded outside at all.

List of SP Group charge points: 

NORTH

CENTRAL

EAST

WEST

about the author

Derryn Wong

Has a keen interest in all things mechanical, technological, animal and mineral. Is particularly fascinated by eco-cars and cars which make no logical sense. An avid motorcyclist and photographer, he also enjoys cats.