A superior technology ensures high power charging in the most convenient and safe way.
Super-charged in 15 minutes – how HUBER+SUHNER is accelerating the electric vehicle market
Electric vehicles are increasingly becoming the car of choice as more people become environmentally conscious. The sale of electrical vehicles in the US increased by 81% in 2018, with a growing number of charging stations being installed across the US to meet this demand. According to J.P. Morgan, by 2025 electric vehicles are expected to make up a total 30% of all vehicle sales, contributing to a rise of 8.4 million electric vehicles on the road.
Yet, when consumers think of purchasing an electric vehicle, one of the biggest concerns is where they will be able to power up, as well as how long it will take. No one wants to be stood by the roadside for hours waiting for their vehicle to charge to continue a journey. However, purchasing a low-emission, fuel-efficient vehicle does not mean consumers have to compromise on performance or convenience.
Currently, charging times are often lengthy and disruptive for everyday life as many charging spots offer average outputs of 7-50kW, with a full charge taking up to three hours. When compared to the wait time of eight hours when electric vehicles were first launched, this is progress – but there is still some way to go before the ultimate aim of making charging as quick and easy as filling up with fuel is achieved.
Reducing charging time
As a result of this, and discussions with various Automotive OEM’s, HUBER+SUHNER, a Swiss-based manufacturer of components and systems for electrical and optical connectivity, has developed an innovative power cable solution to enhance electrical charging stations and reduce charging time.
In order to achieve this, higher power must be transmitted through cables for charging electric vehicles. The standard solution would be to just increase the cross section of the cable, but this would lead to a very bulky cable making handling difficult for the majority of consumers. Therefore, to reduce weight and increase flexibility, a cooled cable solution was developed. This solution ensures easy handling at the charging station and can draw up to 500A/1000V, enabling new generation EV cars to charge in just 10-15 minutes to 80% state of charge.
Dubbed the RADOX® HPC, the system has been developed to be flexible, easy to handle and lightweight, enabling even higher ratings to ensure it is future-proof. The upward compatible and customisable system helps the utility provider to be prepared for future needs and, as a result, secure vital investments. As providing a solution with 500A in public use is new, safety and reliability were given the highest priority in the development phase. Additionally, the product is approved in accordance with European and American standards.
Accelerating the electric vehicle market
To enable a successful market introduction of the new generation of EV cars, an HPC infrastructure is required. With the ability to charge an electric vehicle in less than 15 minutes from a convenient station and enough power to last for hundreds of kilometres, we believe it now makes sense for motorists to switch to electric cars as their favoured method of transport. The state-of-the-art infrastructure will not only make lives easier and safer, but with the addition of more charging points with the RADOX® HPC system implemented around the world, charging an electric car away from home is now simple and convenient.
The product is already in serial production, with various roll-out programmes currently running in the US and Europe. We hope Asia will also follow soon.
To bring more advanced and adaptable electrical cars successfully into the market, a solid network of charging stations is also required. Along with the existing standard charging points for electric cars at home, work and in car parks, a new generation of high-power charging points along main travel routes are being implemented to ensure drivers are not restricted, with experts suggesting that the worldwide number of public charging points will increase to approximately 40 million in 2030.
HUBER+SUHNER is currently playing an integral role in the development of these stations by supplying the cooled cables to Electrify America. Electrify America is a Volkswagen subsidiary set up as part of the diesel emissions test settlement to develop a network of electric charging stations across the U.S.
In the next two years, Electrify America will install a highway network of ultra-fast Direct Current Fast Charge stations. This will include building new sites which will connect regional destinations and filling in existing routes as station utilization of the highway network increases. This project will continue to see HUBER+SUHNER play a vital role in developing the infrastructure needed to make electric vehicles a reality for consumers across America. With projects such as this one, we are confident consumers will continue to increasingly choose electric vehicles, meeting and even exceeding the ambitions of the electric vehicle market.
