KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — Works Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi has shared an update on PLUS highway’s preparation for the coming Hari Raya festive season. He revealed that the newly reopened Seremban R&R Southbound on the North-South Expressway was upgraded at a cost of RM45 million and it will be the location for Malaysia’s first EV Hyperstation.

The minister said that PLUS is collaborating with a local charge point operator for the EV hyperstation which will come with 8 EV charging points. However, no further details were provided including estimated timeline and what chargers will be deployed.

PLUS and Yinson GreenTech (YGT), the company which manages ChargEV, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last year to build a ChargEV Hyperpower DC Fast Charging Hub at Seremban R&R Soundbound. YGT said they are planning to deploy a total of eight charging bays with dynamic load balancing at the hub which can deliver up to 350kW each. This could be a similar setup as ChargEV’s recent EV charger deployment at Aeon Mall Shah Alam.

A DC fast charging hub with 8 bays can help boost range confidence to EV drivers heading southbound of Kuala Lumpur. With an ultra-high power output of up to 350kW and 8 bays, the Seremban R&R Southbound location offers a higher probability of charger availability during peak travel seasons. On top of that, EVs with 800V architecture can easily top up their batteries from 10-80 per cent in less than 20 minutes while taking a break at the R&R.

With more EVs hitting Malaysian roads, there’s an urgent need to deploy more EV charging hubs along interstate highways. At the moment, there are now more DC chargers deployed between Penang and Johor on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. However, more is needed on the east coast and along the Pan Borneo Highway in East Malaysia.

Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, Liew Chin Tong told Parliament recently that the government wants to prioritise the deployment of DC chargers. The move aims at reducing range anxiety and allowing more people to utilise EVs for long-distance journeys. The government’s current target is to have 10,000 EV charge points in Malaysia by 2025 which consists of 9,000 AC charge points and 1,000 DC charge points. — SoyaCincau