Charging station
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New Clipper Creek hardwired unit will use the same current as a single-vehicle charge point but split it between two vehicles.
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Mainstream media on electric cars: more thoughtful on their growth
As with any innovation, coverage of plug-in electric cars by mainstream media has been, shall we say, variable. Seven years after the first Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt were delivered to their buyers in December 2010, misconceptions and misinformation abound. Technology is often not a strong suit...
John Voelcker -
EVgo adds mobile app for electric-car charging network access
One way for electric-car charging networks to make the public charging experience more user-friendly is through the use of smartphone apps to replace the RFID cards that identify members and let them initiate charge sessions. Not only do they provide electric-car drivers a host of capabilities, but...
Sean Szymkowski -
BMW, Mercedes, Ford, VW, Audi launch Ionity high-power fast charging across Europe
A group of automakers in Europe announced on Friday they will launch "Ionity," a network of high-power fast-charging stations to build out the continent's infrastructure for electric-car travel. When it's finished in 2020, Ionity will include 400 charging stations across multiple countries...
Sean Szymkowski -
Energy Dept to award $15 million for very fast electric-car charging
The United States Department of Energy has announced a new funding initiative to accelerate the development of what it calls "Extreme Fast Charging" (XFC) systems. In total, the DoE will award $15 million for the development of electric-car charging systems as well as batteries capable of very fast...
Sean Szymkowski -
Shell buys its first electric car charging station firm in Europe
Even oil companies have begun to realize the future will not be nearly as reliant on fossil fuels, and Royal Dutch Shell is moving to safeguard its future business. The Dutch oil company acquired NewMotion, an electric-car charging station firm, for an undisclosed price. DON'T MISS: Shell fuel...
Sean Szymkowski -
Renault hasn't tackled the home-energy storage market to the degree its alliance partner Nissan has, but it has found another use for "second-life" batteries. The French brand has worked with UK-based Connected Energy to install two electric-car DC fast-charging stations powered by second-life batteries. Once the energy capacity of lithium-ion batteries has fallen to a point that they are no longer suitable to power vehicles, they still retain considerable capacity for use as energy storage. DON'T MISS: Nissan home energy-storage battery: another front against Tesla? The electric-car charging...
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Gas stations aren't a model for electric-car charging: ChargePoint CEO
For more than a century, motorists have been accustomed to gas stations, which provide places to stop and fill up a car with fuel, in recent years with larger and larger convenience stores attached. The model is so commonplace, it may mean drivers don't know electric-car charging stations even...
Sean Szymkowski -
Another 'electric highway, 1,250 miles along Australia's coast
The country of Australia is poised to build one of the world's longest "electric highways," which will span 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers). Specifically, the Northeast region of the country will see the electric highway open through the state of Queensland. In total, 18 stations will be installed...
Sean Szymkowski -
BP follows other gas-station brands, adds electric-car charging
Major oil companies are beginning to take the threat of electric cars seriously, and the latest evidence comes from British Petroleum. BP has begun discussions with electric-vehicle makers to partner on a network of charging stations. The move comes as many European countries announce plans to ban...
Sean Szymkowski -
Porsche prototype 350-kw electric car fast-charging station installed
Porsche has big plans to expand the capability of the Combined Charging System (CCS) DC standard into much higher voltages to allow much faster electric-car charging. Now, it's completed a first step: at the brand's new branch office in Berlin-Adlershof, Porsche has installed a prototype...
Sean Szymkowski -
Electric-car charging stations rated: what's best, what's cheapest, what to avoid?
There is a lot to consider when it comes to purchasing an electric-car charging station, as it can affect the ownership experience and the convenience of using the car. While some owners of plug-in hybrids may stick with the 120-volt charging cord that comes with the car, virtually all buyers of...
Sean Szymkowski -
As the market for electric vehicles continues to grow, electric-car infrastructure will need to keep up with the growing population of them. To solve the problem, companies are looking at a variety of new and innovative ways to charge more cars without actually taking up more space. Enter the ebee Smart Technologies streetlight charging station—which has now has arrived in Lancaster, California. DON'T MISS: Ubitricity street lamp socket provides electric-car charging The concept is similar to the Ubitricity streetlight charging stations used in the United Kingdom, but ebee's approach is...
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Ubitricity street lamp socket provides electric-car charging
A German company has brought forth its idea of how to provide convenient, cost-effective electric-car charging and now it has made its way to the United Kingdom. Ubitricity rolled out its streetlight car charging ports two years ago, but the German company has now spread its innovation to the UK...
Sean Szymkowski -
Chargeway: the best electric-car idea you've never heard of
Pretty much everyone knows how to put fuel into a conventional car. You pull up to the pump, open the vehicle's fuel door, put a credit card into the pump, select diesel or one of three grades of gasoline, lift the hose, and pump. (In New Jersey and Oregon, someone else does this for you.)...
John Voelcker -
Car buyers have no idea electric-car charging stations even exist
Electric cars have promised to revolutionize transportation for years now. As more manufacturers offer electrified vehicles and prices continue to drop for battery technology, the easy correlation would be to assume that consumer interest has spiked. Actually, it remains pretty darn low, according...
Sean Szymkowski -
Chargie app connects electric-car drivers, UK homeowners; 'AirBnB' for charging?
The internet has transformed how many perceive property, allowing the rental of other peoples' personal vehicles, apartments, and other spaces when owners are not using them. Now, the idea is being applied to charging stations across the United Kingdom with the introduction of the Chargie...
Sean Szymkowski -
Electric car charging: the basics you need to know (updated)
The number of plug-in electric cars on North American roads grows every year, and with them come new buyers. Each new electric-car driver will have a few things to learn, so we've rounded up some tips on how, where, and when how to charge up that new plug-in vehicle. Whether you're already an...
John Voelcker -
Unlike most automakers, Tesla doesn't schedule redesigns, updates, and new features for its cars to coincide with traditional model years. Aided by the fact that most of its new features are software-related, Tesla takes a more flexible approach. Many new features are pushed to its electric cars whenever they're ready, in the form of over-the-air software updates. DON'T MISS: Tesla releases Supercharger electric-car fast-charge prices That means, when checking for the latest Tesla updates, the best place to look typically isn't a company press release, but rather an owner forum. Sure enough...
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How important is fast-charging to sell electric cars? Poll results
Those unfamiliar with electric cars often don't know that several different types of battery charging exist. Overnight recharging at home can be done either with 120-volt household current or, for longer-range cars, with a 240-volt charging station installed by the car owner. Then there's DC fast...
John Voelcker -
BMW expands electric-car ChargeNow by EVgo program to 33 states
Two days ago, BMW and Nissan announced the latest expansion of their jointly funded DC fast-charging sites for electric cars, which is operated by the EVgo charging network. Those sites now cover more than 50 metropolitan areas in 33 states. This morning, BMW announced that its ChargeNow by EVgo...
John Voelcker -
BMW, Nissan fund EVgo fast-charging network expansion: 670 dual-standard sites open
At the end of 2015, BMW and Nissan announced that the two companies had partnered to fund the installation of 120 DC fast-charging stations for electric cars across 19 states. All the sites had one or more 50-kilowatt stations with a pair of charging cables: one with the CHAdeMO connector that...
John Voelcker -
California utilities submit $1 billion of electric-car projects to regulators
California continues to lead the United States, and in some ways the world, in efforts to reduce and eliminate harmful emissions from road vehicles. Following the lead of Governor Jerry Brown, the state legislature and regulatory agencies have set aggressive goals to reduce emission of...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Mirai touted in ad on electric-car charging station
How do you advertise new and innovative zero-emission vehicles, whether they're electric or fuel-cell cars? It's a question that's bedeviled carmakers and their marketers, who continue to experiment with messaging, different audiences, and programs to get people into the cars. The challenge is...
John Voelcker