SPX Service Solutions To Trial Plugless Power Wireless Charging On Chevrolet Volt Electric Vehicle
WYTHEVILLE, Va. / July 23, 2012 / PRNewswire — Today, at Plug-in 2012 in San Antonio, Texas, SPX Service Solutions announced its plans to trial Plugless Power wireless charging technology on its own Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle. With this announcement, Service Solutions becomes the first of ten companies to announce its involvement in the second phase of the Apollo Launch Program, an initiative started by Evatran, that aims to encourage electric vehicle adoption by following a group of industry leaders as they trial wireless electric vehicle charging. Service Solutions joins industry leaders from the first phase of the Apollo Launch Program including Google, Hertz, and Duke Energy.
Service Solutions will have two systems installed at its location in Warren, Michigan during the fourth quarter of 2012. The systems will be used on a daily basis and program drivers will provide feedback to Evatran on charging routines, driver interfaces, and overall ease-of-use. Over the next few months, additional members of the second phase of the Program will be announced.
The first phase of the Apollo Launch Program kicked off in February of 2012 with six industry leaders including Google, Hertz, Duke Energy, and Clemson University. The participants have had prototypes systems installed at their locations over the past month and will be trialing the systems over the summer. Driver feedback will be consolidated into a Case Study to be released to the public to further the industry’s understanding of wireless electric vehicle charging. The second phase of the Program will focus on the trial of Evatran’s production aftermarket systems for the Nissan LEAF and the Chevrolet Volt.
“This announcement is just the first step in our relationship with Service Solutions,” commented Rebecca Hough, Evatran’s Chief Operating Officer, “we look forward to drawing on the experience they have had with traditional electric vehicle charging system installations as we release Plugless Power into the market. Service Solutions is a trusted name with over 3,000 corded charging system installations in the last 18 months. We’re pleased to be working with such a strong leader in this growing market.”
Service Solutions, an SPX Corporation business unit, launched its charging station manufacturing, distribution and installation business over two years ago with the goal of becoming a leader in the growing electric vehicle charging infrastructure space. Service Solutions has a network of over 900 certified and trained installation and service staff across the country, and has successfully distributed over 10,000 charge stations, including the Power Xpress, Voltec, Chargepoint, Blink and GE Wattstation brands.
Kevin Mull, Service Solution’s Vice President of EV Solutions, added, “We’re excited to be a part of the launch of this revolutionary technology. We’ve seen what the charging station market requires and we’re looking forward to providing Evatran the feedback they need to design a user-friendly, convenient wireless charging system that can be easily installed in EV owners’ garages across the country.”
For more information on the Apollo Trial Program, including SPX’s involvement, please visit: www.pluglesspower.com.
About SPX Service Solutions
SPX Service Solutions is a leading global developer and manufacturer of advanced diagnostic systems and service solutions for automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), their dealer networks, and retail and aftermarket channels. The business also provides consulting, strategy and technical information for vehicle servicing and maintenance, as well as for charging and the servicing of electric vehicles. SPX (NYSE: SPW) is a global Fortune 500 multi-industry manufacturing company. With headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., SPX has over $5 billion in annual revenue, operations in more than 35 countries and over 18,000 employees. This description of SPX does not contemplate the pending sale of the Service Solutions business to Robert Bosch GmbH. Visit www.spx.com.
About Evatran
Plugless Power™, developed by Evatran™, is the first electric vehicle (EV) charging system on the market to offer customers a simple way to charge their EVs with the ease of wireless technology. In addition to aftermarket distribution, Evatran is currently working with automotive manufacturers to integrate the Plugless Power technology into mass-market EVs. The company signed an installation agreement with Sears Home Services in December 2011 to support the installation of Plugless Power systems nationwide. The Apollo Launch Program, an initiative started by Evatran in 2012, follows industry leaders such as Duke Energy, Clemson University, Google, and Hertz, as they trial the Plugless Power technology on their own EVs. To learn more about Plugless Power or to reserve a wireless charging system for your own EV, visit www.pluglesspower.com.