January 13, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO - January 12, 2011 - ECOtality, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECTY), a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies, announced today that the Company's BlinkTM Level 2 Home Charging Station has received Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Listing. The Blink Home Charger has been certified under UL Subject 2594 which is specific to Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE), for both plug-in and hardwired models. In addition, the Blink Home Charger has been found to be compliant with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Federal Code of Regulation (CFR) Part 15C, pertaining to radio and frequency emitting devices.
"Our smart Blink Home Charging Station was created combining elements of intelligence, ease, and safety. Our goal was to provide consumers with an electric vehicle charging solution that would be better for the environment, renewable, more cost effective, and safe," said Jonathan Read, CEO of ECOtality. "Having the UL Mark on our products authenticates our commitment to safety, and dedication to providing reliable and innovative EV charging solutions."
UL is an independent organization that conducts safety testing and certification on products worldwide. The Blink Home Charging Station components were tested and met the compliance requirements necessary to earn the UL Mark.
"We are pleased that ECOtality's Blink EV Charging Station has achieved UL listing and received the UL Mark," said Gary Savin, UL's Vice President and General Manager for global Power and Control business. "UL looks forward to continuing its relationship with ECOtality and the other participants in the EV Project to assist in bringing these innovative technologies to market in an expedited manner."
In addition to the safety certification from UL, the Blink Home Charging Station incorporates a variety of intuitive features and benefits, including:
- - A safe charging system, safe in wet or dry use
- - An easy-to-use ergonomic, ADA compliant design
- - Convenient cable management for long reach and storage between uses
- - A durable SAE J1772-compliantEV connector, compatible with new EVs sold in the United States, designed for over 10,000 uses and can withstand being driven over by a vehicle
- - An intuitive connector that only transmits power when properly connected and de-energizes when not in use or incorrectly connected
- - A connector holster providing protection and storage
- - A positive lock connection that prevents accidental disconnection
- - A convenient, user-friendly 7-inch color touch screen display easily programmable to charge when usage rates are lowest for increased cost savings
- - Smart Grid ready to interface to utilities for demand response and load control
- - Access to the Blink Network, a web-portal that provides data about consumers' EVs, charging, and all Blink charging stations, as well as the Blink Membership portal, which offers members various benefits when using the extensive system of Blink charging stations located across the country.
"Our Blink charging units are developed with consumers' interests in mind," stated Don Karner, President of ECOtality. "We are proud that our Blink charging stations will bear the UL Mark and we will continue to produce charging solutions that will encourage consumer adoption of EVs and EV charging stations. EV Project participants and EV owners can rely on Blink charging stations for safe, consistent operation."
The Blink Home Charging Station is currently available free of charge to EV Project participants. ECOtality is project manager of The EV Project, the largest deployment of vehicle charging infrastructure in the United States to date. In addition, any EV owner (or prospective owner) can take advantage of the smart features provided by ECOtality's Blink family of charging stations by purchasing a charging station from ECOtality at http://www.blinknetwork.com/.
As project manager of The EV Project, ECOtality will oversee the installation of 15,000 commercial and residential charging stations in 16 cities and major metropolitan areas in six states and the District of Columbia. The project will provide an EV infrastructure to support the deployment of 8,300 EVs. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through a federal stimulus grant of $114.8 million, made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The grants are matched by private investment, bringing the total value of the project to approximately $230 million.