University of Missouri Kansas City Joins the ChargePoint Network Delivering EV Driver Services to Employees and Students
KANSAS CITY, Mo. May 3, 2011 As part of its growing commitment to sustainability, the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) today announced it has joined the ChargePoint® Network, providing electric vehicle driver services for its students and employees. UMKC has installed its first ChargePoint networked charging station for EVs at its Kansas City, Mo. campus. The ChargePoint station will service electric vehicles on campus as part of a U.S. DOE grant managed by the Metropolitan Energy Center’s Kansas City Regional Clean Cities Coalition. Sale of the ChargePoint charging station was completed by LilyPad EV via Coulomb’s Midwest/Chicago distributor Carbon Day Automotive.
“The University’s commitment to sustainability and cleaner transportation is evident in our growing bike-share program, our recent bus pass initiative and a new emphasis on promoting and accommodating electric vehicles throughout our campus,” said UMKC Chancellor Leo E. Morton. “With the installation of our first electric vehicle charging station, we are pleased to introduce our students, faculty and staff to an alternative future of fueling.”
This ChargePoint Network expansion brings University of Missouri EV drivers unique, easy-to-use services including real-time status and location of unoccupied charging stations, tracking and reporting of greenhouse gas and gasoline savings, and charging status notification, all by SMS, email or smart phone (iPhone and Blackberry) applications. Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and all manufacturers of electric vehicle charging stations.
ChargePoint Network services enable charging station owners to generate new revenue from EV charging. Station owners can set their own prices for charging as a function of the time of day or calendar date - much like a parking meter. Stations can also be configured to provide free access to EV drivers. Station owners can:
- Recover energy costs with PCI-compliant driver billing
- Track and report energy usage and savings for greenhouse gas and fuel
- Set multiple service plans for EV driver usage
- Create flexible billing options for their customers, without a subscription, via contactless credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, and Discover)
- Access 24 X 7 station monitoring and driver support
- Post custom advertising and greetings on the charging station display
A program of Metropolitan Energy Center, the Kansas City Regional Clean Cities Coalition is a public/private partnership among fleet managers and manufacturers, vendors, and service providers to promote the adoption of alternative fuel vehicles and other petroleum reduction strategies. Kansas City’s coalition has been active since 1996 and is a proud partner with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program since 1998. Clean Cities’ vision is energy independence and cleaner air through clean fuels and advanced vehicle adoption. In 2009, the U.S. DOE awarded the Coalition $15 million, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to deploy more than 300 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles and install or upgrade alternative refueling at more than 30 locations in our 3-state region. For more information about MEC and the Coalition see www.kcenergy.org.
About the University of Missouri-Kansas City
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 15,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience. For more information about UMKC, visit www.umkc.edu. UMKC was named one of Sierra Club’s 100 Coolest Schools for 2010.
About LilyPad EV
LilyPad EV is the Kansas and Missouri reseller for Coulomb Technologies. We sell, install, and maintain Coulomb Electric Vehicle Charging Stations under Midwest distributor Carbon Day Automotive in Chicago. LilyPad EV proudly partners with area Plug In Readiness Task Forces, and other interested parties, to actively help regions prepare for the arrival of plug in vehicles. LilyPad EV is a member of the Kansas City, St. Louis, Central Kansas, and Springfield, Missouri Plug in Readiness Task Forces. Our purpose is to ensure that people who purchase electric vehicles will be able to charge them as necessary…where they live, work, play, and shop. Our business model helps organizations move towards their sustainability goals while creating a new revenue streams. Visit www.lilypadev.com for more information or contact us at info@lilypadev.com.
About Carbon Day Automotive
Carbon Day Automotive (Chicago) is the leading electric vehicle charging station company in the Midwest as the exclusive distributor for Coulomb Technologies in 10 states which includes Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Lake County Indiana. Please visit www.CarbonDayAutomotive.com for more information.
About Coulomb Technologies, Inc.
Coulomb Technologies is the leader in electric vehicle charging systems and application services, with the ChargePoint Network now operating in 14 countries, and Network Operations Centers in the U.S., London, and Hong Kong. The ChargePoint Network first went live in January of 2009. Coulomb provides a vehicle-charging infrastructure, with an open system driver network: the ChargePoint Network provides multiple web-based portals for Hosts, Fleet Managers, Drivers, and Utilities, and ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations ranging in capability from 120 Volt to 240 Volt AC charging and up to 500 Volt DC charging. For more information, follow Coulomb on Twitter at twitter.com/coulombevi. To request a charging station in your area, visit www.mychargepoint.net/request-station.php. To download the ChargePoint iPhone App, click here.
