BMW and Porsche have pulled ahead of Tesla in the race to field ultra-fast electric vehicle charging stations, with a new model that delivers enough electricity in three minutes to carry a car 100 kilometres and charges a battery to 80% of full capacity in just 15.
“Carmakers, developing a wave of electric models to keep up with tightening carbon emissions regulations, are under pressure to overcome consumer turnoffs like slow charging times and patchy infrastructure,” Bloomberg reports. The new prototype charger “has capacity of 450 kilowatts, more than triple Tesla’s Superchargers,” which take about 30 minutes to complete an 80% charge.
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A key drawback is that the new prototype “offers more power than current models can take on,” the news agency notes. The two European automakers had to build special research vehicles to test the design.
Meanwhile, charging station installer ChargePoint announced late last month that it had secured US$240 million in new investment, bringing its total financial backing to more than $500 million. The latest roster includes utility giant American Electric Power and colossal fossil Chevron, Greentech Media reports.
“You’ve got old energy, plus new energy, plus mainstream investors all coming together saying this is definitely a trend that’s here to stay,” said ChargePoint CEO and President Pasquale Romano. “To get the recognition that the old guard is buying into this is something I think we’ve all been waiting for.”
The company currently has more than 57,000 charging stations installed, en route to a target of 2.5 million public chargers by 2025.
