EV NEWS

Jordan Rolling Out Solar-Powered EV Charging Stations — Goal Of 3,000

The Middle Eastern country of Jordan may not be at the front of many people’s thoughts when queried about electric vehicles, but that may not be the case forever, going by recent moves made by the government and private sector there.

In addition to electric vehicle (EV) purchases being made exempt from various taxes and fees, the Jordanian government recently (last year) entered into agreement with the Chicago-based battery-manufacturer AllCell Technologies, with the intent being, over the next decade, the development of a solar-powered electric vehicle charging network composed of 3,000 different stations.

The idea is for some charging stations to be installed at gas stations, allowing for fast partial charging, and for others designed for longer charging to be installed in places where EVs will be left parked for long periods of time. As part of the $120 million deal, an app is also expected to be made available to allow users to easily locate charging stations.

Here’s more via a new article from Venture Magazine:

AllCell’s Jordanian CEO Said al-Hallaj predicts his agreement with the government, combined with the tax and fee exemption, will result in roughly 50,000 to 100,000 of Jordan’s 1 million-plus cars becoming electric within 5 to 7 years.

…The government was never going to be able to introduce the same electric car subsidies or grants that have been introduced in some wealthy Western countries. So it came up with the next best thing. “If you import an electric car you are exempt from all charges and taxes – that’s almost double the price of the car. You’re making electric cars more competitive than gasoline cars,” al-Hallaj said.

…But before you dash out to buy an EV, it’s important to note that regulations still have to be put in place before the project can advance. There’s already a law in place that governs the transportation, or ‘wheeling’, of renewable energy along transmission lines. But AllCell is still waiting on the government to create further legislation that will oversee its business model, which includes a 30 MW solar farm that will feed into the grid to cover the electricity being sucked up by the proposed network of charging stations.

“There are laws for renewable energy wheeling, but in our case, we’re selling to consumers and offering them a service that needs to be regulated,” al-Hallaj continued. “We’re waiting to clarify and get proper government agencies to draft and implement the right rules and regulations that cover this concept.” the grid to cover the electricity being sucked up by the proposed network of charging stations.

It’s assumed that these will be offered up relatively soon, according to al-Hallaj. As it stands right now, there’s only one station operational (at the King Hussein Business Park), but there are supposed to be another 10 stations launched within the year.

Image of Amman, Jordan, via JPRichard / Shutterstock.com 

‘10,000 electric car charging stations to be built in Jordan’

AMMAN — The German-based company eCharge and local stakeholders have signed cooperation agreements to build more than 10,000 smart electric vehicle charging stations in the Kingdom, Amr Abdou, head of business development at the company, said on Wednesday.

Speaking to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on the sidelines of the 10th Afaq economic conference being held at the Dead Sea area, Abdou said that the agreements were signed after evaluating studies prepared by a Jordanian company on the number of electric vehicles in the Kingdom.

He said that Jordan is second in the region, after Dubai, in terms of the number of electric vehicles, adding that this investment is the first of its kind in the region.Wednesday.

ECharge has studied the Jordanian market and its development over the past few years, which indicates a "success" in building a strategy relying on renewable clean energy through the establishment of solar and wind energy stations, Abdou pointed out.

He added that such stations would help reduce the Kingdom's oil bill which accounts for 19 per cent of the GDP.

The stations will charge vehicles in less than 15 minutes, and payments can be made through technical platforms known as "blockchains", where anyone can charge and pay through a smartphone application, he explained. 

Abdou added that the stations will be distributed across all governorates in public places, hotels and malls.

He stressed that the biggest challenge facing the success of electric vehicles in the Kingdom, despite the fact that they are exempted from custom fees, is the limited availability of charging stations and the lack of maintenance centres, noting that the company will also provide relevant training to Jordanians.

‘10,000 electric car charging stations to be built in Jordan’

A consortium led by Chicago-based lithium battery manufacturer AllCell Technologies, LLC signed a Letter of Commitment with the government of Jordan to begin the deployment phase of a network of solar powered electric vehicles charging stations across Jordan.

Read more at: https://www.idtechex.com/research/articles/national-network-of-solar-ev-charging-stations-in-jordan-00007108.ja.asp?donotredirect=true&setlang=ja. Wednesday.

The AllCell consortium includes Hyseo International, a leading solar developer in Europe and DBT, a French company that pioneered EV charging and a major supplier of EV charging systems in Europe.

Jordan's Minister of the Environment Dr. Taher Shakhshir represented the Prime Minster of Jordan at the signing event, with the presence of Mayor of Amman Aqel Biltaji and KHBP Chairman Dr. Moayad Samman. Al Shakhshir stated that "the Jordan Solar EV Project will contribute to addressing issues related to reducing the fiscal deficit in the government of Jordan Treasury on one hand, and mitigating carbon dioxide emissions and preserving the environment." Mayor Biltaji stressed the importance of this project in Amman's effort to green its fleet. The mayor announced that the municipality will immediately issue a request for buying fifty electric vehicles to replace some of the aging conventional vehicles.

Jordan's government has announced an initiative to incentivize electric vehicle adoption by eliminating tariffs on import of zero-emission vehicles and developing EV charging infrastructure. In 2011, the AllCell Consortium signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Jordan and installed an off-grid solar powered EV charging station for testing purposes. Following positive results, the decision has been made as part of this agreement to establish 11 more stations in Amman and eventually expand to the rest of the country.

AllCell's CEO, Said Al-Hallaj commented, "This is a great step in our effort to launch the deployment phase of a network of 3,000 EV charging stations backed by 30MWp solar PV systems".

Jordan is ideally suited to adopt electric vehicles as it imports 97% of its energy, but has abundant solar resources. This program is part of a larger government initiative to increase the presence of solar energy and reduce reliance upon imported energy.