EV charging race is on in Latin America
As automakers continue to launch electric vehicle (EV) models in the Latin American market, the race to provide EV charging points has started and many of the contenders are international players.
Although there are many companies joining in on this challenge, we will mention two from Spain (Wallbox and Circontrol) and one from the United States (Blink).
As for Wallbox Chargers, it will be launching its Supernova DC charger for residential, semi-public, and public use this year, a 60kW charger already marketed in Europe and selling more than 1,000 units globally. According to a Wallbox release, it is capable of adding 100km of range to an EV in less than 15 minutes.
The company will start public charging in Latin America around July and the first units will be in Brazil as it is pretty much in line with European standards and has a fairly high demand for 60kW-75kW chargers,
“Brazil will be the first country, but we also intend to be selling in Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay during this first phase,” Latam regional manager Diego Martins (pictured left) told Fleet LatAm, the Latam arm of Global Fleet.
The company plans to be in more than 16 countries throughout Latin America, but it is still under discussion in the other markets, according to Mr. Martins.
To expand operations, Wallbox has partnered up with recharging infrastructure company E-Drive in Mexico, multi-brand dealership Los Coches in Colombia, and e-mobility solutions company Copec Voltex in Chile, local news service Portal Movilidad reported.
At the same time, Circontrol is providing semi-public and public fast charging, as well as residential charging for vehicles, last-mile fleets and buses by offering continuous chargers of up to 400kW in countries such as Colombia and Chile.
"We are carrying out an alternating semi-public charging network project, placing chargers in strategic locations, where vehicles are stopped most of the time. We are also carrying out a project for a public fast charging network," the news services reported Head of America Sales Gustavo Risi (pictured righ) as saying.
Owing to each OEM brand being configured in a different way and with certain connectors, not all cars are created equal, and this is the type of solution Circontral is focused on.
To minimize costs by making sure fleets do not exceed maximum contracted power, Circontrol deploys a dynamic management system that allows you to combine chargers in alternating current and direct current, facilitating the creation of tailor-made charging infrastructure.
While opening the doors to several charging points supplying 25kW-150kW of power at a time, it also makes installation less expensive.
Meanwhile, US-based Blink Charging is making its move in the region by offering smaller AC chargers that can handle up to 50 amps (12kW) as well as faster DC chargers handling 30kW-260kW.
“Owing to the many different vehicle manufacturers doing business in Latin America, it is a complex region with many different chargers and connector requirements,” Latam development manager Patricia Baires (pictured left) said during the last Fleet LatAm expert meeting, adding that Blink offers both the J1772 connector (more common in the US) and the type 2 connector (the European Commission standard)
Besides providing equipment, Blink has proprietary software to optimize EV charging operations, intelligent management for public service charging of multiple vehicles, and infrastructure implementation planning which includes engineering designs, energy management, software, and 24/7 equipment installation, monitoring, and maintenance.
These are just a few of the recharging companies working toward providing the necessary infrastructure to make the EV transition in Latin America possible.
To find out more on what’s going on in the region, keep up to date by attending Fleet LatAm Expert meetings. The next one will take place Monday (15 May), the first day of the 2023 Global Fleet Conference in Portugal.
