Petronas appears to be ramping up plans to develop its electric vehicle charging infrastructure. First, it added the ability to use its Setel app to pay for charging at selected JomCharge stations, then it created a subsidiary, Gentari, to accelerate the adoption of clean energy, including electric vehicles. A tweet by the Malaysian EV Owners Club (MyEVOC) has now revealed that Gentari has installed new 60kW DC fast chargers at Suria KLCC, adding to a burgeoning network of EV charging stations.
The new units, which serve four parking bays, add to a whopping 23 charging bays already served by JomCharge’s 11kW AC chargers in the multi-storey car park, bringing it up to 27 bays – MyEVOC claims the mall now has the highest charger density of any location in Malaysia. According to the Setel app, usage of the chargers are free, but as yet it’s unclear if they are located in the premium parking section, as the other stations are. For reference, Suria KLCC charges RM10 extra for premium parking.
The addition of the KLCC chargers brings Gentari’s fledgling network of DC and AC chargers to 12 locations in Peninsular Malaysia, including three DC chargers on the North-South Highway. The company has already installed a 180kW fast charger for northbound travellers at the Pedas/Linggi lay-by, complementing Shell’s 180kW charger at the Tangkak lay-by for southbound motorists. Unlike the latter, it’s free to use until September 16.
Gentari installed another 180kW charger on the East Coast Expressway (ECE) at the Gambang R&R, although that one is configured as two 90kW chargers and cost RM2.20 per minute to charge; as yet, it’s unclear if the Pedas/Linggi station also be configured this way. This leads users to Kuantan, where there is a JomCharge 60kW DC charger that also supports Setel.
Gentari aims to eventually build out its charging network to 25,000 chargers by 2030, as part of its wider-reaching goals in renewable energy. It looks to achieve an energy capacity of 35 to 40 gigawatts through solar, wind and battery storage, as well as producing up to 1.2 metric tonnes of hydrogen per annum. Currently, the company produces solar energy in India at a capacity of over 1 gigawatt peak (GWp); it also has 170 charging points in Malaysia and India and offers 220 vehicles under a Vehicles-as-a-Service (VaaS) scheme.
