As the automotive world is inevitably moving to electrification, we might even see widespread adoption of this new-age automotive energy source in the Philippines. In fact, SM Supermalls now have charging stations in some of its locations. More recently though, it appears that Pilipinas Shell is also starting to open charging stations in its local gas stations.
Pilipinas Shell's new EV fast-charging station in Shell Mamplasan
Branded as the Shell Recharge, this is the first of its kind by a company which is more known for selling petroleum products. Specifically, the first station is located in Shell Mamplasan in Sto. Tomas Biñan, Laguna, along the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Northbound Lane.
Shell will be expanding the Shell Recharge stations between 3 and 8 additional facilities in strategic locations this year. The company also said that it will be expanding to more locations in the future.
The company also revealed that the next charging station will be somewhere in Luzon, though no specifics have been confirmed. We do know though that the electricity used on these are from renewable sources, specifically solar panels.
A Jaguar I-Pace crossover topping up at the Shell Recharge charging station
As for the actual chargers’ specs, the ones used are Titan 800 300A units equipped with an LCD touch panel for ease-of-use. For electric cars with a Combined Charging System (CCS2) configuration, this system’s output power is set at 180kW, with 150kW and 120kW as optional maximums.
Being compatible with CCS2, the Shell Recharge station is mostly compatible with European electric vehicles. These include Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche, and Audi.
Do note however, that the said charger can also accommodate cars equipped with CHAdeMO fast-charging systems which is the standard on Japanese makes. Examples of these are the Nissan LEAF and the MItsubishi Outlander PHEV.
A closer look at Shell's new EV fast-charger
For pricing, Shell has set the price at Php 65 per minute. Charging will take around 30 minutes on average, but that depends on the EV model’s specific battery capacity. This of course qualifies it as a fast charger. In the future, the Shell Go+ card will also be accepted for Shell Recharge stations.
With the incorporation of charging stations in Shell Stations, the company is shaping up its stations as mobility destinations. What the company means by this is that apart from charging up their EVs, customers can also recharge themselves while waiting all the while doing so with less harmful impact to the environment.
With the launch and future expansion of the Shell Recharge charging stations, can this finally convince for Pinoys to take a plunge into the world of EVs?
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