EV Charging

People will stop complaining about EV range the minute fast charging is a reality, and startup Piëch reckons it's got the goods to deliver an 80 percent charge on a 500-km-range battery in 4 minutes, 40 seconds, vastly quicker than anything else on the market. Why not just launch the battery, then?

This electric grand tourer will be a ton of fun to drive, with three motors combining for 450 kW (603 horsepower) and a lightweight body built for beautiful handling. But its biggest contribution could come from its high-capacity battery, which takes fast charging to new extremes.

​Despite the ever-increasing battery life of our mobile phones, many of us carry around a portable power bank just in case. In a similar vein, VW is developing a mobile quick charge station for electric vehicles, which can juice up as many as 15 EVs before its cells need charging.​

​Car makers in Europe have been working together for a while now to develop and roll out a network of fast chargers for electric vehicles. Now Porsche has announced that one of its research cars has received a 400+ kilowatt charge from a prototype charging station in Germany.​

​Chargers for electric vehicles could be getting much smaller and more energy-efficient, if technology developed by scientists at North Carolina State University reaches consumers. The system may also allow for considerably quicker charging times.

Momentum Dynamics has announced the first 200 kilowatt wireless charger in North America, which sees a BYD electric bus in Wenatchee, Washington, receive a cable-free top-up during routine transfer stops.​​

The Swedish Transport Administration has just opened a 2-km (1.2-mi) stretch of electrified road that works like slot cars. The project, dubbed eRoadArlanda, involves embedding electric rails into the road surface to power electric vehicles through a contact arm hanging down from under the car.

KYMCO launched the Ionex at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show as the spearhead of a new battery-charging strategy. The Taiwanese manufacturer proposes a power outlet network that combines typical charging stations with battery-swapping vending machines, all the while remaining open to other manufacturers.

​Although charging points are becoming more commonplace all the time, buying an electric vehicle still brings some uncertainty. Tesla is removing some of the guesswork for prospective buyers, bringing a useful new trip-planning tool online to help you map out potential routes. ​

​Electric vehicles are an increasingly common sight on our roads. Though auto makers and fuel suppliers have committed to installing more chargers to meet rising EV demand, Berlin's Chargery proposes bringing the charging station to its customers by bicycle.​

Kensington and Chelsea Council in London has announced 50 new charging points for the borough. But rather than being located in dedicated charging station, these new Ubitricity sockets will be installed in converted streetlamps.

​The electric vehicle revolution is well and truly underway. Announcing the "Freedom is Electric" publicity campaign, utility company E.On confirmed that it's aiming to roll out 10,000 charging points across Europe over the next couple of years.​