[BALTIMORE – April 28, 2021]

CPower Energy Management (“CPower”), a leading energy solutions provider, today expanded its partner ecosystem with AMPLY Power to offer transmission and distribution grids the flexibility to integrate electric vehicle (EV) chargers as a distributed energy resource (DER). AMPLY is a leader in providing fully managed charging services to public sector and commercial businesses with EV fleets. Through the partnership, CPower and AMPLY will help keep the grid balanced during peak hours.

Estimates show that commercial fleets in the U.S. will grow to include eight million EVs by 2030. As a result, power consumption will increase up to 230 terawatt-hours-per-year or approximately 6% of current U.S. power generation, creating a market opportunity of approximately $15 billion for EV fleet charging. 

“As the paradigm shift toward distributed energy resources integration becomes a reality, together with our partners, we’re unlocking benefits on both sides of the meter to maximize the full value of the grid,” said Mathew Sachs, senior vice president – strategy and business development, CPower. “As assets like electric vehicles and their chargers grow in popularity, demand-side energy management programs will become an even bigger priority for grid operators and utilities. We’re excited to partner with an industry leader like AMPLY to offer additional flexibility to the industry.” 

Leveraging its Charging-as-a-Service model, AMPLY makes it simpler for fleets to transition to EVs by assuming end-to-end responsibility for all charging aspects of the EV fleet. Paired with AMPLY’s proprietary back-end software, a customer’s utility costs are driven down by optimizing EV charging and other energy use at public and private depots. The Logan Bus Company, the largest school bus provider for the New York City Department of Education, will be the first project to leverage the new CPower-AMPLY partnership. 

“We are excited to partner with a leading energy solutions provider like CPower to add value to the EV fleet industry by supporting grid operators as they balance energy demand and supply,” said Vic Shao, CEO of AMPLY Power. “Combined with managed charging strategies, onsite distributed energy resources provide an opportunity for fleets to be more energy resilient and reduce costs while strengthening their local grids.”

“Logan is happy to be a part of this dream team supporting the sustainability of the grid,” explained Corey Muirhead, Executive Vice President of Logan Bus Company. “With AMPLY and CPower at the helm, we know we are in good hands and will be well-positioned to play a vital role.”

For more information, visit: http://cpowerenergymanagement.com/distributed-energy-resources/ 

[Mountain View, Calif., April 15, 2021]

Evolving its e-mobility charging solutions with vehicle-to-grid capabilities, AMPLY Power is partnering with UES (Unique Electric Solutions) to offer a comprehensive fleet electrification solution primed for the wave of V2G (vehicle-to-grid) opportunities being pursued by utilities and end customers. The universal solution includes the repowering of existing ICE (internal combustion engine) trucks and buses with electric powertrains, charge management services, a V2G bi-directional EV charging system from Rhombus Energy Solutions, and baked-in coordination with the local utility. The companies are deploying their joint solution for the Logan Bus Company, the largest school bus provider for the New York City Department of Education.

“The future of resilient electric vehicle infrastructure must include V2G capabilities. It can help fleet operators be more energy resilient and achieve greater cost savings while strengthening their local grids,” said Vic Shao, CEO of AMPLY Power.

A report by Precedence Research predicts that the global V2G technology market is expected to grow at a compound rate of 48% between 2020 to 2027. The concept enables bi-directional and controllable electrical energy flow among vehicles and the local electrical grid for the benefit of both parties. Beyond serving as a virtual power plant that utilities and owners can utilize in times of need (such as power outages or times of high prices due to increased demand), bi-directional charging can help fleets and grids balance their electricity demand and act as storage for renewable energy generation.

“Logan is very excited to be a part of this project. Vehicle-to-grid will be imperative for electric school bus operations to scale,” explained Corey Muirhead, Executive Vice President of Logan Bus. “V2G provides much-needed cost savings to the contractor while simultaneously allowing us to provide power back to the grid, thus reducing brownouts and helping our community during emergency events.”

The AMPLY Power, UES, and Rhombus Energy Solutions alliance allows fleets to take advantage of all of the benefits of electrification with less upfront capital and less risk. The economics of V2G will be on display in the Logan Bus project. By integrating these solutions into AMPLY’s Charging-as-a-Service (CaaS) model, the project is set up to capture the cost reductions beyond what electrification via repowering can bring.

“With today’s climate protection goals set by local, state, and federal governments, we need to rapidly replace fossil-fueled vehicles with zero-emission vehicles. This speedy conversion can present issues for organizations that have limited resources. However, the UES re-power option provides fleets with a lower cost and low-risk option to deploy EVs,” Shao continued.

UES has a seven-step process for repowering vehicles. It entails vehicle and route assessment, charging assessment, and after-sales support, making the repowering as reliable and low risk as purchasing a new vehicle. Additionally, operating these electric vehicles can cost fleet operators one-third of the OpEx cost compared with diesel. Combining UES’s repowering technology with AMPLY’s charge management software, operators can achieve higher efficiency and realize significant cost savings. 

“The higher initial price tag of EVs compared to that of internal combustion vehicles can be challenging for many fleet operators. However, when looking at the economics of fueling, maintenance, and operating costs, electric is more affordable than maintaining them as diesel-fueled vehicles,” said Joe Ambrosio, CEO at UES. “Additionally, by deploying our re-powering strategy, where we retrofit the powertrain and keep the existing chassis, we can save operators even more time and money by providing all the reduced operating costs and emissions of a new electric vehicle but at a fraction of the price.”

“To see the massive evolution of bi-directional charging in the U.S. has been a pleasure to witness, and our recent completion of the UL 1741-SA certification for our Rhombus 125kW DC fast charger will meet the needs of fleet operators in a new way that will continue to forge a path to mass fleet electrification,” said CEO of Rhombus Energy Solutions Rick Sander. “Knowing that our American-made products are pioneering change and ushering in a new era of EV through V2G technology is an honor, and we look forward to doing our part in pushing V2G to the forefront of adoption.”

AMPLY’s CaaS model simplifies the transition to EVs for fleets by assuming end-to-end responsibility for all vehicle charging needs, from cloud-based system design to installing local site controllers. Its proprietary back-end software and operational methods drive utility costs down by optimizing EV charging and other energy use at both public and private depots. Combining this process with utility service upgrades as-needed enables Logan Bus to further scale its electric bus deployments.

AMPLY Power announced its partnership with the Logan Bus Company last year and has since partnered with several transit agencies to support their transition to electric, including Tri Delta Transit, Solano County Transit, and the Anaheim Transportation Network. AMPLY recently joined forces with the California Mobility Center to accelerate the transition to e-mobility throughout California, and was also named on the 2021 Global Cleantech 100 list for the second year in a row.

[Palermo, Calif, April 7, 2021]

Adding another school district looking to electrify its fleet to its growing list of customers, AMPLY Power has been selected to fully manage the charging of electric school buses for the Palermo Union Elementary School District. The zero-emission commitment from the school significantly lowers operating and fuel costs for the district to 50 percent of what it previously paid when charging its electric buses and reducing students and the local community’s exposure to diesel particulate pollution. 

The public school system in Northern California’s Butte County has contracted an energy rate of $0.10/kWh through AMPLY’s fully-managed, turnkey charging services. The cost of electricity without managed charging could be as high as $0.20/kWh. In dollars per gallon terms, that energy cost means Palermo is effectively paying $1.19 a gallon to power its vehicles. AMPLY’s services for Palermo include supporting the sourcing of the final funding to secure the project, installing charging stations and onsite energy storage, warranty coverage, guaranteed uptime, a resilience plan, and energy bill management through 2026. 

Palermo’s electric bus fleet makes up 80 percent of its total fleet and currently includes five Lion Type-C electric buses, with a smaller Type-A Blue Bird electric bus planned for 2021. The project’s hardware includes six 16.2kW Level 2 chargers and approximately 700kWh of lithium-ion battery storage. AMPLY helped move the project forward and advocated for the district to secure $49,839 in funding from the Butte County Air Quality Management District. PG&E also provided $35,488 in charger rebates and “make ready” Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) incentives, bringing the total funding amount to $85,327. This financial support eliminated the need for any upfront investment by the school district.

“Since most fleets have difficulty measuring the fiscal portion of energy usage, the ability to have full insight into a fixed rate allows for planning, financial management, and budgeting that opens the door to scale zero-emission initiatives,” remarked Vic Shao, founder, and CEO of AMPLY Power. “With off-peak charging rates as high as 19 cents a kilowatt-hour, and on-peak as high at 39 cents, the school district now has the peace of mind that it won’t be hit with peak rates for charging or unexpectedly high utility bills.”

“Although the coronavirus pandemic created several obstacles for us, we were able to start using our electric fleet in November of 2020 as our schools opened for in-person instruction four days per week. On March 10th of 2020, we returned to five-day, in-person instruction, which allowed more students to be on campuses and more students requiring transportation. Everyone is grateful to be back to school, and our drivers are especially excited about our electric fleet,” said Carlos Aguilar, Director of Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation for Palermo Union School District. “While transitioning to electric can be intimidating and costly, AMPLY’s comprehensive and scalable charge management services are taking the planning and management burden off our staff and replacing it with confidence in our fleet’s performance and predictable, fixed fuel pricing.”

Palermo participated in PG&E’s EV Fleet program, which helps customers convert their medium-duty, heavy-duty and off-road fleets to clean electric vehicles. PG&E helped the school district by designing, paying for and building a large portion of the electrical infrastructure for their EV charging stations. 

“This project was a great fit for our Community Air Protection Incentives program,” said Jason Mandly at Butte County Air Quality Management District. “Palermo Union School District’s collaboration with AMPLY achieves our goals of prioritizing zero-emission infrastructure and reducing exposure to air pollution at schools.” The Community Air Protection Incentives program was funded by California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment.

AMPLY’s Charging-as-a-Service (CaaS) model goes beyond making it simpler for fleets to transition to electric. It assumes end-to-end responsibility for all charging aspects of the initiative, from cloud-based system design to installing local site controllers. Its proprietary back-end software and operational methods drive utility costs down by optimizing EV charging and other energy use at public and private depots. Coupling this process with utility service upgrades as needed enables the district to scale its fleet electrification program further.

“Turnkey charging simplifies electrification for school districts, and AMPLY is proud to play an active role in minimizing harmful bus emissions that can impact student performance,” added Shao of AMPLY Power. “We are dedicated to helping any fleet, be it public or private, to feel secure in knowing their electrification program is under the watchful, expert eye of AMPLY, and their costs and uptime guaranteed.”