EV Charging

With the long-awaited Chevrolet Volt set to hit showrooms later this year, GM has announced that early adopters (in certain cities) will be eligible for one of 4,400 free home charging stations. The 240-volt fast-charge station deal is tied to a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program which aims to assess electric vehicle charging infrastructure requirements, meaning those who take up the offer will be required to share data on charging and use of their vehicle.  Read More

Earlier this month, we told you how Dutch EV charging company Epyon was promoting its new fast charging station. It can reportedly charge a Nissan LEAF up to 80 percent within 30 minutes, and certain other EV’s within even half that time. Now, Epyon is announcing the opening of its first commercial fast-charging station in Europe.  Read More

Nissan’s LEAF electric car is being promoted in the Netherlands this week and EV charging system specialist Epyon is taking the opportunity to unveil its new TERRA fast charging station. If the claims are to be believed, its performance is pretty impressive - the TERRA can recharge a LEAF up to 80% within just 30 minutes. Considering that the LEAF can travel up to 160 kilometers on a full charge, and that most people drive less than 100 kilometers in a day, that half-hour recharge might be all that the average driver would ever need.  Read More

Telekom Austria has announced the launch of its first prototype electric vehicle charging station which finds a new use for some familiar, but fading, technology. In what is hoped will be a trend-setting initiative, telephone booths operated by the company will be modified to include multiple charge points and the first phase of the rollout will see 30 being installed by the end of 2010. What's more, during the testing period users will be able to charge up for free.  Read More

Hopefully before too, too long, the majority of vehicles on the road will be electric. There could be one potential problem with all those EV’s in use however - the huge load that would be put on municipal power supplies when all those vehicles are simultaneously plugged in after their owners get home from work. Fortunately, our oft-featured friends over at Germany’s Fraunhofer group have come up with a solution. They’ve designed a station that charges your vehicle when there’s power to spare.  Read More

One of the criticisms often levied at the drive to get electrically-powered vehicles from the fringe into the mainstream is the current lack of a network of charging stations. Four car manufacturing giants have teamed up with a utility service provider to tackle this problem head on. The newly formed CHAdeMO Association is not only calling for a standard method for charging electric vehicles to be adopted but is also hoping to add some much-needed momentum to the global installation of fast charging solutions.  Read More

Electric vehicle use is set to expand rapidly, but and one of the short term problems is shaping up to be the availability of charging station infrastructure. Mobile technology seems to have arrived at just the right time to support the most efficient use of what are likely to be scarce resources and this iPhone application from Coulomb Technologies is an early example. It not only allows you to locate the nearest ChargePoint Networked Charging Station but also tells you if the charging station is currently available, in use, out of service.  Read More

One of the key stumbling blocks in the uptake of battery electric vehicles is charging times. After all, who wants to wait eight hours to "fill the tank" when a gasoline, hybrid or hydrogen powered vehicle can be replenished in a matter of minutes. One of the projects seeking to address the issue is a collaboration between electric vehicle manufacturer THINK and charging infrastructure developer AeroVironment (a company best known to Gizmag readers as a manufacturer of UAVs). The companies are collaborating on a fast charging project for the THINK City electric vehicle with the goal of taking the EV from zero charge to 80 percent full in just 15 minutes.  Read More

As France’s car-makers push their plans to increase sales and give motorists more electric and hybrid-powered vehicle choices, the French Government has added its support by announcing it intends to spend €1.5 billion (about US$2.2 billion) on creating a battery-charging network for electric vehicles across the country. Part of its spend will also go towards further encouragement of clean vehicle technology and battery manufacturing.  Read More