General Electric Presents WattStation for EVs

The automotive world is used to receiving innovative plans from independent designers who offer their visions of what a car belonging to a certain brand should look like. The electric vehicle segment is relatively new, but designers have already created multiple proposals for future EVs. However, it is now time for the EV charging stations to receive some attention.

General Electric is presenting a piece of EV infrastructure created by the renowned industrial designer Yves Behar. We are talking about the WattStation, a Level 2 hardware that works at 220 volts and can bring an EV’s battery to a full charge status in seven hours. However, the rig also offers a partial charge option that allows an EV to get an energy boost in about two hours.

The WattStation has been developed to work with smart grid technologies, allowing the utilities to manage electricity in real time. This gives the owner of the EV the opportunity to use the best charging times (in terms of costs) and can help reduce excessive load on the electricity network. According to GE, the station can be fitted with a card reader, a feature that covers the electricity payment.

GE has set itself the target to launch the commercial version of the WattStation on the market by next year. A residential version of the rig will also be offered by the end of the current year, with the launch being scheduled to come in time for the release of the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf EVs.