ComfortDelGro partners French energy firm Engie in bid to install electric vehicle charging points

SINGAPORE: Transport operator ComfortDelGro has partnered French energy company Engie to jointly bid for a tender to install and operate electric vehicle charging points at public car parks.

The two companies will also “explore and deploy clean energy solutions together”, they said in a joint press release on Wednesday (Mar 31).

The pilot tender was called by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

It will cover the installation and operation of more than 600 electric vehicle charging points at more than 200 public car parks in Singapore, including those at public housing estates, industrial estates, public parks and community centres.

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Successful bidders will be required to install the charging stations at their allotted car parks by the third quarter of next year, the release said.

“The launch of the pilot tender marks a significant milestone in the expansion of Singapore’s public carpark charging network,” ComfortDelGro and Engie said.

“Data and insights obtained from this pilot tender will help to shape the design and phasing of future tenders, which will be issued in batches over the coming years.”

They will also build charging farms powered by renewable energy on ComfortDelGro’s premises, which will offer “fast charging solutions to its cabbies and public users”, the companies added.

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Engie, a provider of low-carbon energy and services, offers integrated solutions to customers in commercial buildings, industries and cities.

Its Southeast Asia CEO Thomas Baudlot said they are “taking transformational strides in advancing Singapore’s green mobility agenda to establish a strong and reliable green EV charging network to bolster EV adoption” through the partnership.

The partnership comes shortly after ComfortDelGro announced that it will commit S$50 million in clean energy technology and research. This includes transiting towards a clean-energy fleet, improving energy efficiency, adopting renewables and driving business innovation for the next five years.

The operator also said it already has plans to add more electric vehicles into its fleets, as part of its effort to increase its sustainability quotient.

“Sustainability has become a key pillar of our foundation and one that we intend to build on going forward,” said ComfortDelGro’s Group CEO Yang Ban Seng.

“Our partnership with ENGIE is another step in that direction as we hope to offer our expertise in the areas of EV charging and drive the adoption of clean energy solutions in the local transport industry.”

As part of efforts to expand Singapore’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure, the Government announced earlier this month that all Housing and Development Board (HDB) car parks in at least eight towns will be fitted with EV chargers by 2025. 

The aim is to roll out 60,000 EV charging points across Singapore by 2030, of which 40,000 will be in public car parks while another 20,000 will be in private premises.