Holy Grail of Electric Vehicles: 30-minute Charging

With electric vehicles coming closer to maturity and mass-market adoption, one crucial stumbling block remains in place: limited range made worse by hours-long charging.

Consumers may dump the idea of buying an EV with a range of 75 to 100 miles because they can only get so far before needing another charge to replenish the vehicles batteries and at present, fully charging an EV can take hours and even an overnight length of time.

The New York Times has a story that looks at one of the solutions aside from fast-charging batteries; high-voltage quick chargers.

These quick chargers hook up to Level 2 circuits running on 240 volts in contrast to the 120-volt Level 1 circuits used in homes. There are even Level 3 chargers, twice the voltage of Level 2, which are now in use in some commercial places such as airports and factories.

These high-voltage quick chargers can fully charge EV batteries in as fast as 30 minutes according to experts. It’s targeted to be placed in stop over locations – big box stores, truck stops or even a Starbucks coffee shop.

Energy companies already have plans to roll out these quick chargers, some are already operational for field testing purposes like the PG&E’ free public Level 3 charger along Interstate 80 in Vacaville, California which is being tested with a Mitsubishi i-MiEV.

These quick chargers are safe and easy to use, though they would require a single staff to ensure they remain safe for use. Couple these quick chargers with more reliable batteries more suited for quick charging and electric vehicles have a bright future ahead.

Image by Adventures of Pam & Frank