Coulomb Technologies unveiled Wednesday its first public ChargePoint Networked Charging Station for electric vehicles (EV) in New York City, part of the $37 million ChargePoint America program.

Coulomb plans to install hundreds of free EV charging stations for public and home charging throughout New York City for individual vehicle owners and fleets.

Coulomb is working with Ford, Chevrolet and smart USA, all of whom have announced plans to introduce EV in New York in the coming months. The first station is located at Edison Properties - 451 9th Avenue in Manhattan.

"To meet the ambitious goals in PlaNYC, our long-term sustainability agenda, we will have to reduce transportation emissions by taking mass transit, walking or riding a bike, and increasing the use of alternative-fuel and electric vehicles," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Coulomb Technologies and the ChargePoint America program will help us support a new type of vehicle on city streets so we can reduce pollution and emissions in the most efficient way."

"Coulomb is excited to bring the ChargePoint America program to New York City and expand our ChargePoint Network into Manhattan," said Coulomb CEO Richard Lowenthal. "New York will be one of the first cities ready for electric vehicles when the automakers roll them out in the coming months."

Businesses in and around New York interested in receiving free public charging stations should visit the ChargePoint America web site and sign up by completing the application form. Individuals interested in purchasing an EV should sign up to receive more information about qualifying to receive a home charging station. Additionally, the ChargePoint America web site provides a way for drivers to suggest public locations for charging stations.

Coulomb's ChargePoint America program will provide nearly 5,000 charging stations to program participants in nine regions in the United States: Austin, Texas, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Fla., Sacramento, Calif., the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area, Bellevue/Redmond, Wash., and Washington, D.C. The program is a strategic partnership between Coulomb and three leading automobile makers: Ford, Chevrolet and Smart USA.

Coulomb's ChargePoint Network is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and provides authentication, management and real-time control for the networked electric vehicle charging stations. ChargePoint Network's unique features include:

• Charging status by SMS text or email notification

• Location of unoccupied charging stations via smart phones

• A ChargePoint iPhone App

• Authenticated access to eliminate energy theft

• Authorized energizing for safety

• Smart Grid integration for utility load management with future V2G capabilities