KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — ChargEV activates its first EV charging station with a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). Located at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC) Resort in Bukit Kiara, the new deployment by the Yinson GreenTech subsidiary is also the first ChargEV location with on-site card payment terminals.

ChargEV KLGCC Resort offers a maximum DC charging speed of 120kW

The new site can charge 6 electric vehicles at the same time. Four of the charging bays are being served by a pair of Autel MaxiCharger DF240 DC chargers which cost RM1.60/kWh to use.

These DC chargers are equipped with two CC2 charging connectors that can deliver a DC charging speed of up to 120kW each. Based on their labels, these connectors can run at up to 240kW but have been tuned to run at a lower output.

These Autel DC chargers have also been equipped with a touchscreen that not only allows users to check out the charging progress but also the charging curve of the session. Unlike the Kempower DC chargers, you cannot remotely check the charging progress and curve through your web browser though.

ChargEV has also installed a 22kW StarCharge Saturn AC charger alongside these DC chargers. With a charging fee of RM1.00/kWh, this particular charger is equipped with two Type 2 connectors and has its own card payment terminal.

The DC charging speed is limited to 30kW when BESS is empty or after 11pm

According to a notice inside the ChargEV app, the DC charging speed at KLGCC Resort would be reduced to just 30kW when the batteries within the BESS have been depleted. This was done to recharge the batteries and the same limitation would also apply to the site after 11:00 PM.

However, the app did not say when the DC charging would return to normal each day. It also did not mention how long it would take for the BESS to recharge once it is empty.

The BESS is made by Reactive Energy which is an electrical company based in Subang Jaya and features two 215kWh LFP batteries. Based on the information published on the company’s website, the batteries were likely supplied by EVE Energy given their capacities.

In its current state, it seems that the BESS solely depends on the grid to recharge itself as we don’t see any solar panels on the site. This is opposed to the BESS implementations by Gentari and JomCharge in several highway rest areas such as Behrang Northbound, Behrang Southbound, and Senawang Southbound which utilise both grid and solar to recharge themselves.

ChargEV should install an information board at the site to educate users

It is hard to miss the ChargEV’s installation at KLGCC Resort given the existence of a huge signboard that proclaimed it as "Malaysia’s Most Advanced Battery Energy Storage System”. However, I reckoned that ChargEV may have overlooked the opportunity to do something even more important than claiming to have a hi-tech BESS implementation: to educate users about it.

For one, I don’t see any information board that explains what this BESS implementation is all about. Without it, uninformed users would not know that the DC chargers may run at reduced capabilities during certain situations or operating hours.

From certain angles, you can’t even spot the BESS indicator lights.

Not only that, I don’t see any clear indicator that shows whether the BESS batteries are running or being charged. While there are three light indicators on the cabinets labelled as Run, Alarm, and Fault, it is unclear what these indicators represent given the lack of an information board or poster at the site.

While the DC chargers have screens that can be used to display videos, they are currently looping a general step-by-step instructional video on how to utilise a ChargEV DC charger. Perhaps, the CPO can also include a video that explains what the BESS is all about in the playlist.

Hefty credit and debit card pre-authorisation amount

Aside from the lack of an on-site information board that explains how the BESS operates, another concern that I have regarding the ChargEV KLGCC Resort charging station is its hefty pre-authorisation amount if you choose to pay for your charging fee using a credit or debit card.

Specifically, there will be a pre-authorisation amount of RM150 if you choose to utilise any of the ChargEV chargers at KLGCC Resort by using a payment card. This applies to both DC and AC chargers.

The process to activate the chargers through the card payment terminal is fairly identical to the implementation by DC Handal which was the first local CPO that used credit and debit cards as its primary payment option.

After you kick off the process by tapping the Start button on the card payment terminal’s screen, tap on the screen to choose your charging bay. Once you confirm the charging fee, insert your phone number in order to receive a link to your receipt once the charging is concluded.

The RM150 pre-authorisation amount would then appear on the payment terminal’s screen. Once you tap your credit or debit card on the terminal and the pre-authorisation process is successful, the terminal will then display a notice that asks you to plug in the cable to start charging your EV.

With the on-site payment terminal, this means one doesn’t have to download the ChargEV app to utilise the chargers at KLGCC Resort. However, the app still has several advantages over the payment terminal.

For example, the app allows you to keep track of all of your ChargEV charging sessions. If you subscribed to the ChargEV Yearly Essential Plan which provides a 50 per cent discount for DC charging, you can only take advantage of the discounted charging fee through the app. — SoyaCincau