8/6/13 Jump-starting electric vehicle sales with workplace charging stations - latimes.com

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Electric vehicle enthusiasts aim to boost the viability of the EV industry by encouragingemployers to add charging stations.

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8/6/13 Jump-starting electric vehicle sales with workplace charging stations - latimes.com

www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-autos-workplace-charging-20130803,0,4672638.story 2/7

By Catherine Green

August 3, 2013 , 5:00 a.m.

Electric cars will probably remain a tiny niche of the auto

industry until drivers see a serious expansion of charging

stations.

But you can't just put one on every corner next to the gas

station. The cars can take hours to fully charge, which would

create a big parking problem, among other issues. Even if

consumers bought electric cars in droves tomorrow, the

infrastructure to keep them rolling would look much

different.

Charging starts at home, with a charging station that can cost

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8/6/13 Jump-starting electric vehicle sales with workplace charging stations - latimes.com

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drivers $500 to $2,000. But the real key to extending the

cars' range, and easing consumer fears of running out of

power and getting stranded on the road, may well be getting

large workplaces to add chargers — allowing EV-driving

employees to double their commuting distance or to run

more errands.

"That would really help increase the viability of the EV

market," said John Boesel, chief executive of Calstart, a clean

transportation consulting firm.

According to statistics provided by charging station supplier

Ecotality, workplace chargers are used three times as often as

typical public chargers, which might sit outside the Jonathan

Club in downtown Los Angeles, for instance, or the

Department of Water and Power office on Hope Street.

In a recent survey, Ecotality found its workplace chargers

showed a dramatic increase in usage over the first half of

2013, up about 61%. That growth mirrored a rise in EV

ownership. The Electric Drive Transportation Assn. reported

more than 8,600 plug-in hybrids and battery electric cars

were sold in the U.S. in June, compared with about 3,300 in June 2012. July estimates put plug-in

sales at more than 5,800 vehicles, compared with 3,010 during the same month last year. Tesla

Motors has not yet reported last month's sales of its all-electric Model S sedan.

As of July 20, there were 7,849 public and private non-residential charging stations in the United

States, 1,579 of which were in California, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Some automakers have taken it upon themselves to grow the public charging network. Nissan, which

makes the electric Leaf, has been especially aggressive, aiming to triple the number of 30-minute

quick-chargers in the U.S. to 600 by the middle of next year. That plan includes more than 100

quick-chargers at Nissan dealerships in about 50 key markets.

"There's a certain obligation to make sure you're leading the effort," said Brendan Jones, Nissan's

director of electric vehicle infrastructure strategy, though he gave most of the credit to charging

companies. "They're really putting in the capital to build out infrastructure."

Nissan also deploys a team of five people to educate companies in the U.S. about the advantages of

workplace charging. "The fuel [source] is everywhere we go. It's that easy with electricity," Jones

said. "But we have to be thoughtful and strategic about where we put stations."

Tesla Motors, which makes the premium Model S sedan, offers 30-minute Supercharger stations for

its customers to use exclusively. Tesla has 16 stations installed in California, Connecticut, Delaware,

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Illinois, Florida and Washington. The automaker plans to have 27 stations open by the end of this

summer, said Tesla spokeswoman Shanna Hendriks.

The challenge for charging station manufacturers is to get employers, especially those with large

numbers of workers, to see charging stations as a cost-effective workplace benefit.

An employer decides whether to make the electricity free to employees, or charge per hour or

kilowatt-hour. Employees can become part of Ecotality's Blink member program, for example,

which enables them to pay $1 an hour instead of the $2 non-member rate. An undisclosed

percentage of the revenue from charging sessions goes back into the employers' pockets.

ChargePoint's business model requires an employer to pay an annual subscription fee. ChargePoint

tracks usage and deducts per-charge payments from the employer's account. "They want a turn-key

solution," said ChargePoint Chief Executive Pat Romano. "This isn't their primary business. It

doesn't become one more thing they have to deal with."

But the main incentive for employees is the goodwill they build with their workers, who can also gain

carpool lane access in California.

"You're saving the employee a lot of money in fuel. It's the easiest way to give your employee a

raise," Romano said. "You've improved their commute, and you're going to get more productivity

out of that employee."

Employers who start with just one or two charging stations often end up adding more as they see

employees using them, Boesel said. "And having them encourages more employees to buy or lease

EVs," he said. "It's a virtuous cycle for the EV industry."

Half of ChargePoint's business comes from workplace charging, Romano said.

The Department of Energy in January launched a campaign to help large employers install chargers,

calling it the EV Everywhere Workplace Charging Challenge. The program offers no money but does

provide planning and technical support. The department has so far persuaded 48 companies —

including Google, General Electric, 3M and Duke Energy — to install chargers on at least one of their

work sites.

Last year, the California Energy Commission awarded more than $420,000 in grants to fund

workplace charging at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and UC San Diego, among

other projects.

The DWP offers additional rebates to businesses, either $750 or $1,000 for every charger installed,

depending on the model. According to a program official, the goal is to dole out 2,000 rebates on a

first-come, first-serve basis. The program ends June 30, 2015, or whenever funds run out.

Don Anair, clean vehicles research director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said developing

infrastructure to support EVs should come from several sources. "Supporting that infrastructure

through incentives — that makes sense," he said, "and companies are seeing an opportunity at this

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8/6/13 Jump-starting electric vehicle sales with workplace charging stations - latimes.com

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stage as well."

ChargePoint's Romano said charging companies should be ready to shoulder the bulk of the

responsibility in growing the EV market.

"This is a project for the private sector," he said. "Enhanced by policy, but not solved by policy."

catherine.green@latimes.com

Twitter: @c_s_green

Copy r ig h t © 2 01 3 , Los A n g eles Tim es

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