Gentari: AC chargers at Petronas stations at PLUS R&Rs to be upgraded to DC fast chargers
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — During the launch of Gentari’s new modular EV charging station backed by solar and battery energy storage system, they have also revealed upgrade plans for existing EV chargers at Petronas stations along interstate highways. The AC charging points at existing Petronas petrol stations at PLUS R&Rs and lay-bys are being upgraded to DC fast charging points which will provide greater convenience and significant time savings for EV drivers.
On top of that, Gentari will also deploy DC fast chargers at more Petronas stations along PLUS highways and nearby locations, which are targeted to be completed by 2024. The clean energy arm of Petronas said the initiative is part of strategic highway planning to provide range confidence to EV users travelling interstate.
At the moment, we are seeing more DC fast charging stations being deployed by Gentari which include Kempower satellite units at Petronas Ulu Bernam Southbound. Last week, they announced their new 180kW DC charger located at Petronas Juru Lay-by Northbound.
With more EVs hitting Malaysian roads, there’s more demand for DC fast chargers along interstate routes. However, one of the biggest challenges for charge point operators is power constraints at strategic locations.
Gentari deploys solar and battery-backed EV charging stations
To overcome these power limitations, Gentari has deployed their first modular DC charging station at Behrang Lay-by (Northbound) which is supported by a combination of solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS). With a BESS, the EV charging location can build up the required power capacity to provide DC fast charging up to 200kW with 4 charging points.
At their first location in Behrang, it gets a 300kWh energy storage unit from Pixii. The BESS takes about 7-8 hours to charge to full and it can also trickle charge while it is charging an EV.
The four proposed locations are Behrang Lay-by (Northbound and Southbound) in Perak and Senawang Lay-by (Northbound and Southbound) in Negeri Sembilan. They are also proposing three more locations at Ajil (Northbound and Southbound), and Perasing Rest and Service Area (R&R) sites, all on Lebuhraya Pantai Timur 2 (LPT2) in Terengganu. — SoyaCincau
