ECOtality and ChargePoint Establish Interoperability Company

[MikeD]

"ECOtality and ChargePoint Establish Interoperability Company, Collaboratev, LLC:
Collaboratev provides drivers access to EV charging stations on any affiliated network.

SAN FRANCISCO and CAMPBELL, Calif. — March 7, 2013 — ChargePoint, Inc. and ECOtality, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECTY) announced today the formation of Collaboratev, LLC. Collaboratev will enable charging network interoperability, exchange session data and allow financial billing reconciliation services among electric vehicle charging networks. The new company will actively encourage other charging network providers to join as affiliates and enable EV drivers throughout the United States to seamlessly charge among all affiliated charging networks. ChargePoint and ECOtality will connect the ChargePoint and Blink networks to Collaboratev later this year.

Collaboratev’s objectives include:

Provide EV drivers with easy access to participating charging stations using common authentication credentials
Enable one bill for all charging usage
Accurately provide aggregated EV charging station location data
Utilize open national interoperability standards
“Interoperability for EV drivers is another milestone in the widespread adoption of electric vehicles,” said Pat Romano, president and CEO of ChargePoint, Inc. “Collaboratev will give EV drivers access to all stations, locations, availability and mapping features in the public domain.”

For more information regarding this joint venture, please visit http://www.collaboratev.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

"EV drivers will see no change in the billing process. Each driver will receive a single bill from their provider, much in the same regard they always have. Utilizing chargers outside of your home network may be subject to an interoperability fee (similar to an out-of-network ATM fee), based upon your respective network provider and plan. Any such fees will be clearly stated on the EVSE and your billing statement."

I think I'd rather they merge outright. Otherwise you might as well still have separate cards.

 

[adric22]

You know what I was thinking would be cool. If the car were to transmit the VIN to the charging station when connected. Then the charging station could check to see if an account was setup for this vehicle and charge the account appropriately.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I think I'd rather they merge outright. Otherwise you might as well still have separate cards.

ChargePoint doesn't currently own chargers and EVSE's... Ecotality does. It's not an apples to apples "merge", and ChargePoint is the company making money.

 

[MikeD]

TonyWilliams: Your comment makes me wonder how one should measure the value of any company to society...

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

I think I'd rather they merge outright. Otherwise you might as well still have separate cards.

ChargePoint doesn't currently own chargers and EVSE's... Ecotality does. It's not an apples to apples "merge", and ChargePoint is the company making money.

So, ChargePoint has the better business model for EVSE? But they're willing to collect some interoperability fees as well? Why not?

It doesn't affect me as there are no Blinks in New England, but if there were, I'd still get a Blink Card to avoid the extra fee.

If I was renting an EV in Europe and it allowed me to use any network with my ChargePoint card, that would be OK, just like paying a fee to use any ATM.

 

[rickrides]

I'm sure this has been discussed before...Why can't you just pay with a credit card at the charge station like you do at the gas pump? I've only charged away from home once, at a Nissan dealer. I don't want to pay for a chargepoint card that I might use once per year. I haven't registered my Blink card because it would extend my contract. Why is this so complicated?

 

[wsbca]

I haven't registered my Blink card because it would extend my contract. Why is this so complicated?

They took that checkbox out (or had, a while back when I re-checked and then activated) - you should be be able to activate your card without affecting your residential greement now, in case you want to have it available for emergencies.

 

[Nubo]

I'm sure this has been discussed before...Why can't you just pay with a credit card at the charge station like you do at the gas pump?

The time will surely come. Right now each provider is trying to claw out a market niche. When the pain of using all of these little fiefdoms becomes too much for consumers, the market advantage will swing to those who link up to a common network.

If you're old enough you'll remember how the ATM networks used to be. There was a time I could only access my account from within the city where my bank was. Then a couple years later I was pleased to discover I could access it from another nearby city. Then the whole state. Then suddenly I could buy gasoline 500 miles away from home by swiping the same card, if they were on the right "network". Then eventually it was universal and you didn't have to think about it anymore.