Homegrown electric vehicle (EV) charging operator Charge+ announced yesterday (15 Jan) its partnership with OCBC Bank to accelerate the ‘greening’ of Singapore’s land transport sector.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to boost Charge+’s plans to install 10,000 EV charging points islandwide by 2030.
This is in line with the government’s goal of rolling out 60,000 charging points — initial target was 28,000 — by 2030.
Supporting this move, Charge+ said that it will “scale accordingly to contribute to the new national target.”
Getting The Real Estate Sector Onboard
Under the MOU, OCBC Bank will leverage its extensive coverage of the real estate sector to encourage its property developer and property owner customers to install charging points at their premises.
Additionally, the two firms plan to develop incentives to encourage OCBC Bank customers to purchase electric vehicles and charge them at Charge+’s charging points.
OCBC Bank will implement digital payment solutions for the charging service, and look into the financing for the infrastructure.
In light of the Bank’s ambition of building a S$25 billion sustainable finance portfolio by 2025, clean transportation had been identified as a sector of strategic importance given its high growth potential for sustainable financing.
“We are delighted to collaborate with OCBC Bank, a partner that shares our corporate vision to green the mobility sector and catalyse the electric vehicle transition,” said Ong Tze Boon, Chairman of Charge+.
“By harnessing OCBC’s deep expertise in financing solutions, digital payments and real estate, Charge+ will be able to accelerate its roll-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which will be key to spurring electric vehicle adoption in Singapore.”
Elaine Lam, head of global corporate banking at OCBC Bank said that for EV adoption to pick up, the supporting charging infrastructure has to be in place and “Charge+ has very quickly become a leader in this space.”
However, the infrastructure alone is not enough. There must be public adoption to enable a clean energy transportation system too, she noted.
“OCBC can therefore play the role as a meaningful financial services enabler in the electric vehicle ecosystem. This is just the first step for the both of us,” said Lim.
“We are excited to support the broader vision to bring others onboard the ecosystem, including property developers and owners, electric vehicle distributors and manufacturers, and utilities companies. The collaboration with Charge+ also marks our efforts to offer beyond banking solutions through partnerships and co-creating innovative ideas with our corporate clients.”
Featured Image Credit: Charge+