LAS VEGAS -- Eaton Corp. and Coulomb Technologies announced plans to significantly expand the North American footprint of charging stations for electric vehicles. Through an agreement between the two companies, Eaton's Level II and DC quick-charging Pow-R-Station units will now give station owners the option to be part of Coulomb's ChargePoint Network.

Eaton Corp. and Coulomb Technologies last week showcased electric vehicle supply equipment at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

"Eaton is a leader in the creation of the public EV charging station network in North America, which will set the stage for widespread regional adoption of EVs and serve as a global model of sustainable transportation," said Tom Schafer, vice president and general manager of Eaton's commercial distribution products division. "This collaboration with ChargePoint Network is a critical step to linking vehicles into the utility grid, offering multiple benefits to EV and charging station owners and consumers, including lower fuel costs, a higher return on investment and reduction of greenhouse gases."

Eaton Pow-R-Station charging units, which can charge a depleted EV in three to four hours, will now have the capability to access all the functionality of the ChargePoint Network and ChargePoint service plans. Features include a centralized management infrastructure to set up services, automated billing and transaction payment processing, 24/7 driver support, and driver services that show real-time station availability. 

"This is a significant announcement for Coulomb as we welcome Eaton to the ChargePoint Network family," said Pat Romano, president and CEO at Coulomb. "This collaboration highlights the success of our OnRamp program that has allowed us to work with Eaton to rapidly enable the family of Pow-R-Stations to work with ChargePoint Network. We are also particularly pleased to have the first DC stations available on the network."

ChargePoint-enabled Eaton stations will be included on all ChargePoint mobile phone applications for iPhone, Android and Blackberry. These ChargePoint mobile apps can locate stations near any specified address, get turn-by-turn directions, and even start and stop a charging session directly from a smart phone. 

Additionally, these apps allow drivers to use ChargePoint Network's station reservation feature. Drivers can locate and reserve stations and then make, view and cancel a reservation time slot directly from a smart phone.