San Jose has been taking leaps and bounds to lead the country in sustainable living. They’re making significant progress by partnering up with Coulomb Technologies to test EV charging stations around the city. The 110-volt outlets can be installed on poles like streetlights in various public places so city drivers can charge up conveniently.

With the growing popularity of EVs as viable options to get around town, Coulomb expects that there will need to be two charging stations per car to ensure the proper infrastructure is created to manage the uptake in EV use. The extra charging stations stem from the fact that there is a national average of one residential garage for every 5 vehicles registered in the US, so vehicles without garages need a place to juice up, as well as vehicles that are part of car sharing programs.

An important element of charging stations is utility grid management – Coulomb also has that in the bag with their management technology, making the start-up company a sort of one-stop shop for EV charging infrastructure. San Jose, a city that loves its technology, will be able to take advantage of Coulomb’s wireless communication capabilities for charging stations, management of mesh networks to authenticate users, and management of energy flow and metering. The folks involved in using and working with the stations could access GPS-lined data online for super easy info linkage.

Should San Jose give them a thumbs up, Coulomb’s talks with other CA cities, as well as cities in Texas, Colorado, Florida and New York could prove lucrative. Other cities are also recognizing the importance of gearing up to host EVs and hybrids as consumers purchase more and more. It is simply a short matter of time before charging stations, including those using renewable energy like those undergoing testing in Japan, will be widely available – good news for all EV users.

Via Cnet; Photo via Coulomb Technologies

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