Shell has rolled out an electric vehicle charging service at its Sengkang station in Singapore, marking the first time it is introducing the offering in Southeast Asia. Called Shell Recharge, the new service will be available at another nine Shell stations across the island by October, when it will account for almost 20% of the energy company's local retail network.

Owners of compatible electric vehicles will have to shell out SG$0.55 per kWh to charge at these service stations, where 50kW rapid DC chargers would be able to power up from 0% to 80% charge in about 30 minutes. Customers would not have to pay connection fees, Shell said in a statement Monday.

The nine service stations that are slated to offer the service in October will be located in Newton Hooper, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Boon Lay, and Havelock.

Shell Recharge operates on Greenlots' electric vehicle charging network management software, which is used in more than 100 public and private charging stations across 50 locations in Singapore. Acquired by Shell in January 2019, Greenlots is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell New Energies.

Citing new findings from a study it commissioned, Shell said one in two Singaporeans believed it would be difficult to own an electric vehicle if they lived in an apartment due to the lack of access to a charging station. Almost one in two would be persuaded to do so if there were sufficient charging stations in the country, revealed the online study, which in July 2019 polled 1,000 respondents aged 18 and above.

Some 55% of respondents cited insufficient charging stations as a top concern about electric vehicles, while 53% pointed to the cost of maintaining an electric vehicle and running out of power midway through a journey.

Shell Retail's Singapore general manager Aarti Nagarajan said: "Singaporeans worry about lack of sufficient and fast charging options for electric vehicles, which is why we are taking the first step to launch Shell Recharge and offering customers a rapid charging solution at convenient and strategic locations."

The company hopes the addition of convenience services will further entice customers to have some coffee and snacks while their vehicles were being charged at the stations. Shell in 2017 kicked off an island-wide initiative to boost its service station offerings with the launch of its own convenience retail store and food label. Some 60% of its local network has since been upgraded with the remaining to be fully completed by end-2019.

Shell Companies' country chairman in Singapore, Aw Kah Peng, said: "To meet the country's climate action goals, Singapore needs more and cleaner energy solutions to power lives, businesses, and transport sustainably."

Local utility company SP Group in January launched electric vehicle charging points at eight locations across Singapore, tapping a mix of 50kW direct current (DC) and 43kW alternating current (AC). Located at commercial buildings, industrial sites, and education institutions, the first 38 points were part of the utility group's plans to build a local network of 1,000 such sites by 2020, including 250 DC charging options.

Dyson last October announced plans to build a manufacturing plant in Singapore dedicated to producing electric vehicles, marking the first of such facilities for the UK company. Slated to complete in 2020, the two-storey advanced automotive manufacturing plant was part of Dyson's £2.5 billion ($3.25 billion) global investment in new technology.

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