Blink chargers are helping to meet the needs of the growing EV demands in Costa Rica as EV sales have doubled throughout Latin America. SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, February 2, 2023 – Blink Charging Co. (Nasdaq: BLNK), a leading owner, operator, and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment and services, recently announced its collaboration with three local companies in Costa Rica – GBT (a company by Grupo CAPRIS), RQL and SBS – to extend its footprint and promote electromobility in the region. The strategic collaboration will help strengthen the EV charging infrastructure across Costa Rica enabling more drivers and businesses to embrace electromobility. “Our local commercial collaborators have a nationwide presence, and they will bring the workforce, experience and infrastructure to serve corporate, retail and commercial clients having Blink’s support as the hardware manufacturer and software developer,” said Juan C. Barahona, U.S. & Global Director of Operations for Blink Charging. The agreement involves the installation of a public network of Blink charging stations across the country, as well as the retail selling of Blink’s home charging unit, the HQ 150 and HQ 200. The first 14 EV charging points will include Blink’s IQ 200 dual and single port chargers in strategic locations, which will be available for all EV drivers. RQL's General Coordinator, Arturo Quesada Leiton, commented that thanks to their alliance with Blink, the company will have the opportunity to provide good service to electric vehicle users. "We will be able to offer them accompanying electric supplies, design and installation of charging stations,” said Quesada Leiton. Fabian Vargas, Commercial Director of SBS stated, "Blink is a true ally with whom we can offer uniquely diverse solutions, technical service and a range of first-class chargers." In this regard, Mauricio Rojas, General Manager of GBT, said, "We are confident that by combining our commitment and robustness with Blink's technology, we have the most complete solution for electric vehicles’ charging stations." The inauguration of the Blink charging stations occurred on February 2, 2023, at Bocadito del Cielo restaurant. The ceremony was held to celebrate the deployment of the charging stations and the further adoption of electric vehicles in the country. It was attended by dignitaries, Blink customers and representatives. The Mayors of Cervantes, Jimenez and Alvarado, Gustavo Castillo Castillo, Lizeth Fernandez Quiróz, and Felipe Martinez Brenes, respectively, as well as other dignitaries, were onsite to support Blink Charging's expansion into Costa Rica and the build-out of EV infrastructure in the country. During the ceremony, Blink Charging’s representatives and their partners, presented the locations where the first EV charging ports were installed:
Bocadito del Cielo restaurant, Cartago
RQL Ingeniería, San José
El Jardín restaurant chain - at its locations in San Ramón, Sarchí, Liberia and Orotina, covering the provinces of Alajuela and Guanacaste
The owner of Bocadito del Cielo restaurant, José Mena, pointed out that it is very important for them to meet the needs of their customers. "That's why we opted to place Blink Charging electric vehicle chargers in our restaurant and event hall," Mena commented. Gustavo Cruz, owner of El Jardín Restaurants, mentioned that this alliance will help them provide the best service to their customers, innovate and contribute to the environment, and said, “We are taking one additional step to decrease our carbon footprint.” Scheduled for installation is the impressive IQ 200 while the all-new HQ 200 home charger will be made available for retail sales. The IQ 200 is a Level 2 charger with J1772 connector and 80-amp output capacity or 19.2 kW. Meanwhile, the HQ 200’s sleek design, competitive price, and output of up to 50 amps is ideal for an easier, faster, and better home charging experience. Each charger can connect to Wi-Fi and communicates with the Blink Charging Mobile App as well as providing visibility on the Blink Map to over 440,000 active EV drivers registered on the Blink Network across 27 countries. Both chargers are focused on providing efficiency and intelligent scalability, with growth in mind with supporting technologies such as Plug & Charge (ISO 15118) functionality, enabling an electric vehicle to automatically identify and authorize itself to a compatible charging station on behalf of the driver, to draw energy for recharging its battery. The only action required by the driver is to plug the charging cable into the EV and/or charging station. As a leader in EV charging in the region, Blink will continue to deploy various additional projects in the coming months, reinforcing their commitment to a greener, better future and helping Costa Rica achieve their xNDC 2020’s climate goal of achieving and maintaining 100% renewable electricity generation by 2030. “Costa Rica has been successfully increasing its efforts to address climate change, and we are proud to help them move towards this goal,” concluded Barahona.
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About Blink Charging
Blink Charging Co. (Nasdaq: BLNK, BLNKW), a leader in electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment, has deployed nearly 59,000 charging ports across 25 countries, many of which are networked EV charging stations, enabling EV drivers to easily charge at any of Blink’s charging locations worldwide. Blink’s principal line of products and services includes the Blink EV charging network (“Blink Network”), EV charging equipment, EV charging services, and the products and services of recent acquisitions, including SemaConnect, Blue Corner and BlueLA. The Blink Network uses proprietary, cloud-based software that operates, maintains, and tracks the EV charging stations connected to the network and the associated charging data. With global EV purchases forecasted to rise to 10 million vehicles by 2025 from approximately 2 million in 2019, Blink has established key strategic partnerships for rolling out adoption across numerous location types, including parking facilities, multifamily residences and condos, workplace locations, healthcare/medical facilities, schools and universities, airports, auto dealers, hotels, mixed-use municipal locations, parks and recreation areas, religious institutions, restaurants, retailers, stadiums, supermarkets, and transportation hubs. For more information, please visit https://blinkcharging.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements and terms such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “should,” or other comparable terms involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief, or current expectations of Blink Charging and members of its management, as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, including our estimate of U.S. charger production and those described in Blink Charging’s Q3 2022 Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed with the SEC, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Except as required by federal securities law, Blink Charging undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed conditions.