Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, US Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Coulomb Technologies CEO Richard Lowenthal today announced the installation of the first Coulomb ChargePoint Networked Charging Station for electric vehicles in New York City. The station, part of the $37 million ChargePoint America program, will be one of more than 100 ChargePoint electric vehicle charging stations to be installed throughout the metropolitan area. Coulomb is working with Ford, Chevrolet and smart USA, all of whom have announced plans to introduce electric vehicles in New York in the coming months. The ChargePoint charging station was unveiled at an Edison Properties parking facility at 451 9th Avenue in Manhattan with Edison Properties Board Chair Jerry Gottesman. Also attending the ceremony were ChargePoint America program partners including Ford, smart USA and Chevrolet.

"To meet the ambitious goals in PlaNYC, our long-term sustainability agenda, we will have to reduce transportation emissions by expanding mass transit and increasing the use of alternative-fuel and electric vehicles," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Building on our fleet of nearly 6,000 hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles, we plan to test Coulomb chargers so we can reduce pollution and emissions in the most efficient way."

"By creating jobs manufacturing and installing charging stations for electric vehicles in nine metropolitan regions around the country," said Secretary Donovan, "we are partnering with industry to provide a low-cost transportation option for the tens of thousands of families.  This investment reminds us once again that President Obama's Recovery Act isn't simply about supporting jobs in existing industry - but also about catalyzing the new jobs in the new industries that our nation needs to compete in the 21st century."

"Coulomb is excited to bring the ChargePoint America program to New York City and expand our ChargePoint Network," said Richard Lowenthal.  "New York will be one of the first cities ready for electric vehicles when the automakers roll them out in the coming months.  Installing these stations will impact the City in several way: first, it will provide jobs to plan and install ChargePoint charging stations around the city;.second, it will reduce carbon emission here, and third; it will give New Yorkers the opportunity to choose a vehicle that reduces our dependence on oil."

"The unveiling of the first ChargePoint station in New York City represents a major step forward for clean energy transportation," said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. "Federal dollars for this program will help reduce our reliance on foreign oil and improve the City's air quality. I will continue to push for federal investments in green infrastructure and technology to create good-paying jobs now and build a sustainable economy for the future."

"These electrical charging stations are very welcome additions to New York City and testimony to our city's commitment to sustainable technologies," said Congressman Jerrold Nadler.  "I'm very pleased to have supported federal stimulus legislation which is being very productively used for this important new infrastructure.  As these green technologies grow and become more and more accessible, New Yorkers and their environment will reap tremendous benefits."

"My district is the epicenter of the childhood asthma epidemic in New York," said Congressman José E. Serrano. "There are plenty of good reasons for fleets and individuals to make the switch to electric vehicles, but the respiratory health of our children is paramount to me. I applaud Coulomb for getting here first and for recognizing how well-positioned New York is for broad EV adoption.  To speed us forward, I have called for the deployment of 24,000 new charging stations across the country in my e-Drive bill-HR 4399.  Today, I am happy to see progress toward that goal and toward a clean energy future."

"Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector and other pollutants associated with congestion are critical components of PlaNYC," said Adam Freed, Acting Director of the Mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. "Building on the comprehensive analysis we conducted on the electric vehicle market in New York City, we are establishing the first in a targeted network of charging stations located in centralized, public locations. This - along with other actions that we and others can take over the coming year - will encourage New Yorkers to make choices that reduce transportation-related pollution and emissions."

Coulomb's ChargePoint America program will provide nearly 5,000 charging stations to program participants in nine regions in the United States: Austin, Texas, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Fla., Sacramento, California, the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area, Bellevue/Redmond, Wash., and Washington DC. It is a strategic partnership between Coulomb and three leading automobile makers: Ford, Chevrolet and Smart USA. Coulomb currently has the largest established base of networked charging stations worldwide with more than 700 units shipped to more than 130 customers. Installation of the ChargePoint charging stations is beginning now in all nine designated regional metropolitan areas of the U.S.

ChargePoint America will offer both public and home charging stations to individuals and businesses. Businesses in and around New York interested in receiving free public charging stations should visit the ChargePoint America web site and sign up by completing the application form. Individuals interested in purchasing an electric vehicle should sign up to receive more information about qualifying to receive a home charging station. Additionally, the ChargePoint America web site provides a way for drivers to suggest public locations for charging stations.

Coulomb's ChargePoint Network is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and provides authentication, management and real-time control for the networked electric vehicle charging stations. ChargePoint Network's unique features include:

• Charging status by SMS text or email notification
  
• Location of unoccupied charging stations via smart phones
  
• A ChargePoint iPhone and Blackberry App
  
• Authenticated access to eliminate energy theft
  
• Authorized energizing for safety
  
• Smart Grid integration for utility load management with future vehicle to grid capabilities

The $37 million ChargePoint America program is made possible by a $15 million grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Transportation Electrification Initiative administered by the US Department of Energy and a $3.4 million grant from the California Energy Commission. ChargePoint America will provide 4,600 public and home ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations by October 2011, adding to the existing ChargePoint Network. Coulomb will work together with its distribution and industry partners to evaluate the demand from the respective geographic regions and allocate charging stations based on this and other factors. The ChargePoint America project will collect data characterizing vehicle use and charging patterns, and Purdue University and Idaho National Labs will analyze the data.

Coulomb Technologies is the leader in networked electric vehicle charging station infrastructure with stations installed in municipalities and organizations worldwide. 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. ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations range in capability from 120 Volt to 240 Volt AC charging and up to 500 Volt DC charging.