3 Boosts to Electric-Vehicle-Charging Infrastructure
By Samantha Oller on Jan. 18, 2017CHICAGO -- Electric vehicles (EVs) make up only a sliver of the overall vehicle fleet, but forecasts suggest explosive growth in the decades to come. According to a 2016 study by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, EVs will make up 35% of new light-duty vehicle sales by 2040, to hit 41 million vehicles. This is nearly 90 times the sales figure for 2015.
To keep up, EV charging infrastructure is going through its own development spurt. Read on for three of the latest growth updates on North America's charging network ...
“Ultra-fast” charging network
In July 2017, charging network provider ChargePoint is launching “ultra-fast” DC charging stations that can reportedly charge an EV eight times faster than current chargers. The ChargePoint Express Plus platform would provide up to 400 kilowatts per port, capable of adding hundreds of miles of range to an EV battery in less than 15 minutes.
“By the time your latte hits the end of the counter, your car’s probably charged," Pasquale Romano, CEO of ChargePoint, Campbell, Calif., told Forbes. “That’s what we want to get this to.
“The benchmark for us was gasoline,” Romano said. “It can’t be any harder than going to a gas station.”
The Express Plus platform is also modular and scalable, designed so owners can add charging capacity as the market grows and new electric vehicles, buses and trucks join the fleet.
Canadian Tire adds charging stations
A Canadian fuel retailer is adding EV charging stations to more than two dozen sites early this year. Toronto-based Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd., which owns the Gas Plus chain, will host DC fast charging stations at 25 locations in Ontario province. The stations will be installed by charging solution provider AddEnergie as part of its FLO charging network, and funded in part by a grant from Canada’s Department of Natural Resources. The stations can charge an EV battery to up to 80% of its capacity in 20 to 30 minutes.
“Grid-free” charging stations
Almost all EV charging stations today are connected to the electrical grid, for better or worse. A new system, however, aims to use natural gas to get fully off the grid.
The StarPower Level 3 fast-charging station from Franklin-Thomas Co. (FTC), Deltona, Fla., and Carino Energy Renewables Ltd. uses a 120-horsepower natural-gas-powered engine to drive a 70-kilowatt split-rotor generator to generate electricity. When a customer engages the charger, the engine starts up and the generator supplies power. The charging station would connect either directly to a natural-gas line or to a tank, with no need to connect to the grid or use special wiring. This would make the charging station “grid-free,” able to create its own electric power.
The charging stations would be distributed under the Carino Energy name. The companies are also planning an app to help customers locate the chargers and manage fees. They expect the usage costs for the natural-gas-powered charger to be up to 60% less than EV chargers that are connected to the grid.