First public battery charge and swop station for electric trucks opens here

Located in Tuas, it will operate under a 4-year LTA permit to test the technology

- Lee Nian Tjoe Senior Transport Correspondent

Instead of spending hours plugged to a charger to fill up its batteries, an electric prime mover truck will need only five minutes to hit the road again after swapping out its depleted battery for a fully charged one at a station in Tuas.

Located at 5 Tuas Avenue 5, the battery charge and swop station is the first of its kind that is open to the public for electric heavy commercial vehicles.

It was launched on Aug 1 by EcoSwift, an electric commercial vehicle distributor, under a four-year permit given by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to test the technology.

The process of exchanging the battery is entirely automated.

A fully charged battery, which will enable the electric prime mover to travel up to 240km, costs $168 in electricity.