Singapore’s City Energy and EV Connection Launch Cross-Border EV Charging Network

Singaporean energy firm City Energy has launched its cross-border electric vehicle (EV) charging network under its subsidiary, Go by City Energy in partnership with Malaysian company EV Connection (EVC) that will join the city-state with Johor and reach up to Penang.

Formerly known as City Gas, City Energy aims to offer a seamless operational service across both countries for EV drivers from Singapore, accessed by just one mobile application. Under the new branding, Go, the EV charging service provider finances, operates and maintains the network of chargers together with EV Connection, which is the company behind JomCharge.

At present, the Go network of charging points in Singapore have only been confirmed to be built in condominiums, and because these are only accessible to residents of the condominiums, Malaysian EV users don’t yet have access to charging points on this network in the city-state. This will however open up for Malaysian EV users there, as Go will also expand its network into commercial buildings, City Energy said in a statement.

Through this partnership, Go network users from Singapore may access the network of charging points in Malaysia effective immediately. The partnership aims to deploy a further 50 DC chargers under the JomCharge network by the end of this year, according to JomCharge managing director and EV Connection founder Lee Yuen How.

Charging rates on the Go network are RM1.20 per minute for the 50 kW DC chargers, and between RM2 and RM3 per hour for the 7 kW AC chargers. For comparison, charging rates in Singapore are 51 cents (RM1.59) per kWh at 22 kW AC chargers, and 55 cents (RM1.72) per kWh at 50 kW DC chargers, according to The Straits Times.

The chargers in the Go network are located on the western side of the peninsula, and accessible via the North-South Expressway (NSE). Locations in the Klang Valley include Lotus’s Kepong, Sunway Nexis, Vision Motorsport, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, and ABB Subang Jaya.

Meanwhile, the northernmost point on this network is in the Rasa Sayang Hotel in Pulau Pinang, and the southernmost is in ACO headquarters in Johor. Fuel retailers on the Go charging network include Caltex, with charging points in the northbound and southbound Bukit Gantang outlets, the northbound and southbound Ayer Keroh outlets, the southbound Skudai R&R stop in Johor, as well as Petron in Kluang, Johor.

JomCharge is also in partnership with Mercedes-Benz Malaysia and Petronas for the Energise by Petronas network of DC fast chargers in the country. First announced in November 2021, the Energise network will have an initial batch of five DC fast chargers to be installed at strategic locations along the North-South Expressway (NSE) and the East-Coast Expressway (ECE).

According to information disclosed at the Malaysian launch of the Mercedes-Benz EQA, most of the chargers in the Energise network will be able to output up to 180 kW, while one or two will output a maximum of 50 kW to begin with, and these too will be upgraded to the full 180 kW output in the future.