Three game-changers in EV charging

The switch to e-mobility needs more EV chargers, but also better and smarter charging. In 2020, look out for these three charging innovations.

As explained in the Fleet Europe °114 focusing on New Energies, there will be no electric revolution without a revolution in the EV charging network. But what’s needed, is more than just extra quantity. The quality of charging will also have to change – making EV charging faster, smarter and easier than it is today. Here’s how that will happen. 

Faster

Charging of up to 80% in 30 minutes, Tesla’s Supercharger (pictured) is the most common high-speed charging system on the market today. But Porsche and BMW are sure they can do better. The two brands developed a fast-charging prototype that delivers a charge equivalent to 99 km in barely 3 minutes. 

There’s a big but: the system charges as 450 kW, which is more than any EV on the market can take. If and when the system is adapted to the market, it will boost the already burgeoning growth of fast-charging stations – eliminating ‘charging anxiety’. 

Smarter

Here’s something a petrol or diesel car can’t do: give energy back to the grid. Given the right infrastructure, EVs can – and so-called bi-directional charging will turn your electric car into a battery on wheels that will help stabilise energy supply as demand rises… due to the rising number of EVs. 

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) transfers (pictured) are good for balancing out the grid, but also good for EV operators, who will get compensated for helping out. In Finland, Virta recently opened the first public bi-directional EV charging plant attached to a solar power plant. Wallbox, meanwhile, has created the first bi-directional charger for home use.  Pretty soon, your EV battery could become the power source for your home electricity needs. 

Tesla’s robotic EV charger is still in the prototype stage, but it will not be the only autonomous robotic charging solution on the market. Early this year, Electrify America will open an autonomous charging site in San Francisco. Other companies have joined the race to develop an automatic EV charging solution that eliminates the need for manually plugging in your vehicle. 

Easier

What if we could do away with cables altogether? That would be the easiest solution – and it’s already here. Wireless charging (pictured) works via induction, by parking your EV over a charging plate. It could become the key charging technology in a near future in which shared and autonomous EVs require fast and easy recharging. Although still in its infancy, wireless charging technology is being put into practice. A company called Fortum is developing charging infrastructure for taxis in Oslo that is both fast and wireless. The aim is to make the city’s entire taxi fleet zero emission by 2023. 

Even easier: solar charging. Imagine a vehicle covered in photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight into driving power. Dutch startup Lightyear has already built “the world’s first long-range solar charging car”. 

However, EVs running on solar power only are likely to remain out of reach. An EV with a standard solar roof would need to be sunlit all day to provide just 4 km’s worth of electricity per day. A better option would be larger, static solar charging systems, which can provide charge to EVs.