The first of the Rapid Charge Elektrobay units has been installed at The Metro Centre, Gateshead. Thanks to a direct current of 50kW, it can charge the battery of an electric car to 80 percent of its capacity in just 20 minutes, compared to around seven hours it would take using a conventional domestic power supply.
Although it is larger than the slim-line Elektrobay unit, the Rapid Charge is just as easy to use. An automatic control system monitors signals from the vehicle to signal when the battery is charged. The user manages the whole process through a color LCD touch screen, which also displays instructions and safety information.
“Reducing battery charging times is crucial to a successful adoption of EVs,” commented Calvey Taylor-Haw, Managing Director of Elektromotive. “We co-developed the Rapid Charge Elektrobay to quickly extend a vehicle’s range. This will help reduce ‘range anxiety’, which has the potential to undermine demand for EVs. While battery manufacturers continue their efforts to increase range, the Rapid Charge Elektrobay offers an immediate solution for owners of the new EVs that are compatible with this charging technology.”
This is the first Rapid Charge Elektrobay in England, but Elektromotive’s Irish reseller, Carra, has already installed the same product in Dublin in its effort to promote EV-usage across the nation. “The Irish government has ambitious targets for developing the EV market, and aims to have 6,000 EVs on the road by 2012, and 250,000 by 2020. Inevitably, this creates a very pressing requirement for a robust, publicly-accessible recharging infrastructure,” said Greg Robins, Sales Director at Carra.
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