British-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell announced this week that it is making its first foray into electric vehicle (EV) charging in Southeast Asia with the introduction of Shell Recharge at 10 Shell stations in Singapore.
Shell Recharge is the company’s EV charging service which will allow customers, with no connection fee, the option to charge their electric vehicles, paying only for the power used. Using 50 kW rapid DC chargers, Shell Recharge can typically provide 0% to 80% charge in approximately 30 minutes.
By October, Shell Recharge will be available at 10 Shell stations, starting with the Sengkang station in August 2019 before being rolled out to stations at Newton Hooper, Alexandra, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Paya Lebar PIE, Choa Chu Kang, Boon Lay, Havelock, and Bukit Batok West – representing around 20% of Shell’s retail network in Singapore.
“Our insights show that Singaporeans worry about lack of sufficient and fast charging options for EVs,” said Aarti Nagarajan, general manager, Shell Retail Singapore.
“Which is why we are taking the first step to launch Shell Recharge and offering customers a rapid charging solution at convenient and strategic locations. With Shell Recharge, customers can easily charge their EVs while they enjoy our air-conditioned shops and pick up a coffee, a fresh pastry, a delicious ready-to-go meal or a quick snack.”
Shell’s efforts to increase the number of freely-available EV charging stations comes, at least in part, in response to a Shell-commissioned study on EV consumer behaviour which highlighted that 52% of Singaporeans are deterred from buying an EV due to the fear that there are not enough charging stations.
The study also found that Singaporeans would prefer to spend the time waiting to charge their cars having a coffee or eating a meal. This, therefore, also plays into Shell’s decision to develop its own convenience retail store, Shell Select, and its own food label, deli by Shell.
Shell also hopes that its new Shell Recharge services will further incentivise the business sector to transition to electric vehicles, with greater access to reliable rapid chargers at easy-to-access locations around Singapore.
Shell also provides business fleets with access to the ability to pay for charging, fuel, and other expenses, on one single card with its Shell Fleet Card.
“To meet the country’s climate action goals, Singapore needs more and cleaner energy solutions to power lives, businesses and transport sustainably,” said Aw Kah Peng, country chairman of Shell Companies in Singapore.
“Shell Recharge is one such example of how we make it more convenient for our customers to embrace cleaner mobility. Shell aims to make more of such low-carbon energy solutions available in Singapore in the months and years to come.”
Shell is convinced that the world will move to electric, and has plan to become the biggest electricity supplier in the world, a key role as more than 50 per cent of the world’s energy usage electrifies, and moves away from petrol and gas. On Thursday, Shell launched a takeover for Australian utility ERM in an important step towards that goal.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.