Schneider Electric is expanding the electric vehicle (EV) charging networks in Hong Kong as part of the Hong Kong government’s roadmap to popularise EVs and empower sustainable transport.

Schneider had already installed more than 1700 EV chargers covering 53 locations in Hong Kong. Leveraging its recent partnership with Sino Group, it has expanded its network with another 420 EV chargers at Grand Central, making it the largest charging facility in East Kowloon.

“In Hong Kong, we are happy to see the number of EVs grown by more than 100 times in the last decade,” said Jonathan Chiu, president of Schneider Electric in Hong Kong. “As shown in the Hong Kong roadmap on popularisation of electric vehicles, the demand for EVs is expected to be on the up. At Schneider Electric, we are committed to progressing fast to support this initiative with our industry-leading innovations. Through close collaborations with all stakeholders, we aim to further boost our EV charging network by offering 15,000 EV chargers across the territory in 2025, with the hope of bringing more convenience to the EV community and making our city more sustainable.”

Schneider is promoting the development of EVs locally and globally, with more than 150,000 EV chargers sold in 50 countries. In 2020, Schneider announced its membership with the Climate Group’s EV100 initiative to launch a Green Fleet policy that aims to replace 100% of its car fleet with electric vehicles by 2030.

Locally, Schneider has been striving to empower the EV network by installing its EV charging stations across numerous locations in Hong Kong, ranging from commercial buildings and shopping malls to residential estates, hospitals and the airport. To reaffirm its support for local EV drivers, it has recently added seven locations to Google Maps, including Lohas Park 6, Wings at Sea, Malibu at Lohas Park, One Pacific Centre at Kwun Tong, and Novum Place in Shek Tong Tsui.

Looking forward, Schneider expects to extend its EV footprint in Hong Kong to cover more than 15,000 EV chargers in 2025. Its goal is to popularise the use of EVs and support the growth of green transport infrastructure by providing convenient charging facilities for EV drivers.

A recent partnership with Sino Group aims to create the biggest EV charging site at a composite and residential new development in Hong Kong.

Handover to apartment owners started in May 2021 at Grand Central in Kowloon East with the adjacent YM2, bringing to the community a 100% EV-empowered car park with a mix of more than 420 Schneider semi-fast and fast-charging stations. In addition to making EV charging more accessible and convenient for its residents and the Kwun Tong community, Sino is committed to contributing to the city’s carbon neutrality.

“With a vision of creating better lifescapes, sustainability is integral to Sino’s every day operations,” said Gordon Lee, executive director of Sino Group. “We are delighted to join hands with Schneider Electric to promote the use of EVs, as well as the smart mobility development in Hong Kong. This strategic partnership furthers Sino’s testament to sustainability, alongside our Sustainability Vision 2030 that set a clear direction for sustainability to be embraced across the group’s cross-functional operations.”

Last month, Sino Land joined the global pledge to support the Business Ambition for 1.5˚C, a United Nations led campaign calling on businesses to set science-based targets aimed at limiting global temperature rise to 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels and to strive for net zero carbon by 2050.

Booming EV markets have major implications for car-park operators, facility management companies and landlords searching for ways to achieve greater control over the energy management within their properties, as the addition of EV charging infrastructure represents an increase in the electricity demand of a building. Powered by Schneider’s EVlink load management system, the intelligent EV charging infrastructure ensures an optimised use of energy and a cost-effective and sustainable operation.

With EVlink, the charging infrastructure owners or operators can monitor, control and increase the EV charging more efficiently based on real-time available power in the property. By leveraging the existing power infrastructure, the load management system gives flexibility to respond to an increase in demand and the EV charging stations can be installed without the need to upgrade the existing electrical devices in the building, while the system reduces costs and makes the most of existing available power and ensuring building power availability.

The system can adapt and limit the load dedicated to EV charging installations, define on-peak and off-peak time-of-use periods to optimise EV charging and avoid facility disruption and operating losses.

Schneider’s EV charging stations are made in France and are compatible with all models with IEC, SAE and Chademo standards in the EV market. With the certification of Green Premium, these EV chargers are recognised for the efficient use of energy and natural resources, optimisation of the total cost of ownership, regulatory compliance, and value propositions through third-party labels and services.