Charging station

  • Clipper Creek two-car HCS-D40 charging station

    New Clipper Creek hardwired unit will use the same current as a single-vehicle charge point but split it between two vehicles.

  • Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]
    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...

  • 2015 Nissan Leaf at evGo fast charger at Livingston Mall, Livingston, NJ   [photo: John Briggs]
    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...

  • Ionity multi-brand European charging network
    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...

  • AeroVironment DC fast charger, part of West Coast Electric Highway  -  Centralia, WA
    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...

  • Shell logo
    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...

  • Renault Connected Energy charging station powered by second-life batteries

    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...

  • ebee streelight charging station
    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...

  • Prototype EVgo 350-kw fast-charging station Fremont, CA
    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...

  • Highway sign for electric-car fast-charging station at BP in Metrolina area of Charlotte, NC
    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...

  • Porsche solar pylon
    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...

  • Siemens Versicharge VC30GRYU
    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...

  • ebee streelight charging station

    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...

  • Ubitricity street lamp charging station
    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...

  • Chargeway electric-car charging symbols for Chevy Volt, BMW i3, Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S (2017)
    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.)...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car at EVgo fast-charging station, Newport Centre, Jersey City, NJ
    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...

  • Chargie chargepoint service
    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...

  • 2015 Nissan Leaf
    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...

  • Tesla Supercharger site in Newburgh, New York, up and running - June 2015

    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...

  • Chevrolet Spark EV at CCS fast charging station in San Diego.
    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...

  • BMW i3 at DC fast-charging station
    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...

  • BMW and Nissan electric car fast-charging station
    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...

  • National Plug-In Day 2012: San Francisco, with 60 Nissan Leafs in front of the Golden Gate Bridge
    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...

  • 2017 Toyota Mirai
    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...

News First Drives Electric Cars Hybrids Guides Green Life